The way we are
by 0-Miyuchan-0
Summary: Post Big Shimaron, novel time&characterization. Conrad is back and Wolfram, feeling useless, decides to leave. Yuuri, wanting his friend back, goes to look for him disguised, but is he ready to discover the hidden side of Wolfram? Eventually YuuramWolfyuu
1. Prologue

Hello! This is my first KKM fanfic and the first one I wrote in english. I've known KKM serie for a long time and this fanfic has been on my mind since the end of the latest novel. I must warn you that my characters personalities are not entirely anime based because since I read the novels and love them, I tried to portray some traits that they have there. I hope this won't scare people away.

This prologue is all on Wolfram POV and there is mention of light ConYuu but the real pairing will eventually be Yuuram/WolfYuu.

Enjoy

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It was another lovely day in Shin Makoku. The sun was shining brightly, there were no clouds in the sky and it looked like finally, after a long winter, spring had decided to shine over Blood Pledge Castle.

But it was not just the weather. Today was a lovely day because finally Weller Kyo Conrad was back at Shibuya Yuuri's side.

After all the pain endured by the young boy, Wolfram was ready to bet that Yuuri would have found this day wonderful even if outside there had been a thunderstorm.He understood his happiness though, because he too had experienced the same pain and had seen his fiance hurt by everything that happened in the past months. But now that his half brother had returned, everything seemed to be back to how it was before.

Yuuri was happy, and that was all that mattered. This is what his mind was trying to tell him. His heart, however, didn't share the same opinion.Of course, he was happy that Conrad was back too, but another feeling was lingering in him at the present time. He felt useless. When Conrad betrayed them, even without acknowledging it, Yuuri started to rely on Wolfram way more than before.

The blond knew that he was not like his brother, and that the way he showed his support was different, but he also knew, after seeing Yuuri crying in his arms, that the boy needed him a lot.

But now the doubt that had haunted him for months was beginning to take form.

Did Yuuri need him just because Conrad wasn't there? Wolfram tried more than once not to ask himself this question. His fiance, his King relied on him and he was happy to stay at his side even if he wasn't able to express how much he actually cared for him. Though that was also because he had never been able to openly show any soft feeling. But now that Conrad was back, things were back to normal.

Yuuri didn't practice fighting with swords with him anymore, Yuuri didn't ride with him anymore, Yuuri didn't go to him to talk. His fiance seemed to have found a new life and Wolfram felt he wasn't part of it. He sighed.

Looking outside their bedroom window, he could see his half brother and his fiance happily jogging and laughing. Yuuri's smile to Conrad was adorable, he never directed that kind of smile to Wolfram. It seemed stupid now to go there and throw a fit at his fiance, reminding him that he was a cheater. He knew that Yuuri never wanted this engagement, after all. But even if he was satisfied to see Yuuri so happy, on the inside the selfish old Wolfram was screaming.

And in another part of his heart, the ache was increasing.

_He doesn't need me anymore_

After all, he had really nothing to offer to Yuuri, not Gwendal's experience in war, not Gunther's knowledge of Shin Makoku's history, not Conrad's kind and warm smile, not Daikenja's reincarnation's good advice...

He was always told he was beautiful, enchanting and had only that to offer, but Yuuri clearly wasn't interested.

The blond mazoku couldn't help but smile, a sad smile of acknowledgement.

It didn't help that today it was 2 years since Yuuri slapped him. Besides, he managed to get the promise from him that this evening they would go and watch the stars with Greta. Of course, Yuuri didn't remember their "anniversary". To him, it was only another excuse to finish his studies earlier and have fun with Greta, but for Wolfram, having his family together was enough, even if he was the only one to know the real reason. But that was before Conrad was back, and now he doubted that Yuuri remembered that promise.

He already knew what was the right thing to do, but he didn't have the courage to do it. Even if he decided to break the engagement, he knew that seeing Yuuri's relieved face after the statement would be more painful than a stab. Frankly, he wasn't even sure on whether he could continue to see him everyday without feeling hurt... Not to mention that, had his feeling become a distraction, he would have put the King in danger.

But he couldn't go on like this. He needed to start over, to start from the beginning and find another reason to live that didn't involve his black haired soon-to-be ex-fiance. Another sigh, and giving his back to the window he decided to take the matter into his own hands right now, there was no use in procrastinating.

"He needs you, you know?" The sudden voice startled him.

"How come a trained soldier like you couldn't feel my presence, not even when I closed the door?" A pair of black eyes was watching him, the lips of the Great Sage's reincarnation were slightly smiling.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking..." he answered.

"Really hard I would add," the smile became wider "seriously, if I didn't knew better I would say you're having love problems, Von Bielefeld kyo."

The indignation in Wolfram's voice was evident "I'm sorry your Excellency, but I think you're wrong, and in any case it's none of your business. Now, if you will excuse me."

He walked to the door and opened it, intending not to listen to anything else from that person.

"Don't act without thinking, Von Bielefeld kyo. As I said, he needs you, even if it might not look like it to you...or to him." Wolfram replied, without looking back.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about"

Closing the door behind him, he decided to go to Gwendal's and tell him he wanted to request some days off, he needed to leave from here as soon as possible.

In the bedroom, Murata was still sitting on the bed, arms crossed, his eyes invisible under those glasses that reflected the sunlight.

"I wonder what will happen now."

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Thanks for reading this prologue! Since it was quite short I decided to submit also chapter one so if you like, please read that too

Fine modulo


	2. Chapter 1

Here we go with the first chapter. This too is from Wolfram POV

Enjoy

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"What?" Gwendal looked at him with an unreadable expression, as always.

"I would like to have some free time. I wish to go to visit my father's family and spend sometime with them," Wolfram continued. "Now that Conrad is back, and no country is declaring war, I think I could get some time and leave..."

"You can't, you have obligations as Yuuri Heika's fiancé," replied Gwendal coldly while continuing to sign some documents.

Wolfram closed his eyes. "Well, then, I'll talk to Yuuri..."

"Talk to me about what?" replied a happy voice from the door. His fiancé's eyes were shining. Behind him, Conrad and Greta were talking about the little girl's new book. Apparently, Conrad had promised he would read it for her in the evening...

'_Funny_, _now not even my daughter needs me...'_

Yuuri's voice brought him back to reality "Oi Wolfram? Wolfram? Hello?"

"Ah Yuuri, I wanted to ask you for some free time to leave the castle to go to visit my father's family," the blond asked calmly.

"Oh, sure Wolfram. After all, now that everything is solved we all have more time to spend doing what we want...and you never went to visit your family since I came here..."

'_That's because you and Greta became my family...now or never Wolfram, come on, tell him...'_

"Actually Yuuri, there is another thing I wanted to talk to you about, but privately. Would you mind coming with me for a while?"

Yuuri's face looked panicked. It was obvious that he was scared; was he thinking that Wolfram would jump on him when they were alone? His reaction would have been funny if it wasn't another proof that the king didn't want this engagement. Now he was showing uneasiness even in remaining alone with him...

"Oh well...can't...can't I bring Greta with me?"

Another stab.

No, he needed to stop all of this now.

Without answering, he took Yuuri by his arm and dragged him outside, leaving Greta, Conrad and Gwendal in the room, a little dumbfounded.

In the garden, the flowers were in full bloom, and the view was incredible. But even though he always appreciated beauty and that place relaxed him a lot, this time he felt nervous. Of course, that was only on the inside. His posture was firm and his face didn't show anything.

He was vaguely aware that Yuuri was complaining, but he tended to act first and then think. Also, he needed to settle this as fast as possible fearing that he would lose the will if he waited more.

Coming near the fountain, Wolfram let go of his fiance's arm and went to sit. The black haired boy was looking at him with a little frown now.

"Isn't it a wonderful day, Yuuri?" Wolfram spoke up quietly.

He could read on his fiance's face that he was thinking along the lines of "what the hell, he dragged me here to talk about this?"

"When someone asks you something it's just polite to answer, wimp, do you know?" This time, the reply came out worse than how he intended it to be.

"Don't call me wimp!" Here it came, the usual remark, he would miss this so much.

"So, what did you do today?"

It was evident that Yuuri didn't understand why he had been dragged away from the others if they were going to have a normal conversation, but resolved to sit and relax a little.

"Oh well, I woke up early and ran for a little with Conrad, then went to have breakfast and then practiced sword fighting with Conrad and..."

"Wasn't I teaching you how to fight with a sword?"

He could read the panic on Yuuri's face. "Yeah, but you know...now that Conrad is back..."

Wolfram looked at the flowers.

"Now that Conrad is back, you'll continue practice with him…" he finished for him.

"Ehehe...sorry, Wolf, but you are too harsh when you teach me how to fight..." the boy complained.

"Just because I want for you to be able to actually fight and not only defend yourself...but if this is what you want..." He didn't feel like arguing. He wanted to cherish this moment as much as he could. It was the last time he was talking to Yuuri like this and he hoped the next time they would meet each other they could be good friends.

"So, what are you planning to do this evening?"

Yuuri, happy that Wolfram didn't throw one of his usual fits, answered expectantly. "Conrad told Greta and me that he would read us a book he found very interesting...it's about dragons! I've always wanted to know more about dragons, so it will be fun."

Something in Wolfram's heart clenched, and he couldn't help it, the words came out from his mouth before he was able to stop them. "You promised me to go see the stars with Greta this evening..."

'_Stupid, stupid, what the hell are you doing? You knew he wouldn't remember, couldn't you just let it be?'_

"Eh? Was it today??" Yuuri's voice was genuinely surprised. "Gomen Wolfram, can't we do it another day? The sky won't move you know..." he suggested.

"I'll be leaving soon, I don't think I'll have the time, Yuuri, but that's ok, we can do it when I get back."

'_If I come back...'_

Once again a smile appeared on the other boy's worried face. "Oh, thank you Wolf, you're the best!"

"But actually, this is not what I wanted to tell you, Yuuri." He would have preferred not to look at him directly now, but he had to, because he was not a coward.

"Um, what is it?" Yuuri cheerfully asked.

"How about...we cancel our engagement?"

'_Look at him Wolf, do it_, _even if he screams with happiness or he will think you're a coward and you don't want that.'_

So he met those black eyes he cherished so much, and that now were looking back at him with shock. "Eeeh? Wolfram, you sure you're ok?" Yuuri approached him and put a hand on his forehead.

The contact was so unexpected that Wolfram had to restrain himself from blushing. Instead, he shook away the hand rudely. "Shut up wimp, of course I'm ok!"

"Don't call me wimp!" Wolfram was sure he would never be able to forget this line. "I was just worried because you are acting weird!"

"Just because I said something that you didn't expect me to say doesn't mean I'm sick, or that I lost my mind!" As always, his fierce passionality got the best of his reason. "You said this engagement was a mistake, you were probably right, so we can cancel it and I can go visit my family, and that's all I wanted to talk to you about!"

Without waiting for Yuuri's reply, he walked away. Wolfram knew that he wouldn't be able to keep that face or that attitude for much longer, and he didn't want to hear Yuuri say things like 'oh, you're right, I'm so relieved'.

He immediately went to their bedroom, took all his things and packed them as fast as possible. When he was done, he brought everything to his old room and then dropped onto the bed, pressing the pillow to his face, but not before locking the door.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to leave as soon as possible, he didn't care for any other person, after all nobody really needed him, not even Greta. But he needed to find himself again, he needed to have more experiences and know more about the world outside, he was tired of being the selfish, spoiled prince.

With these thoughts in mind, Wolfram resolved to sleep for some hours. He had already decided to leave in that same night, but he knew the he needed to rest if he wanted to ride until morning...that, plus the fact he didn't want to face anyone or be questioned about his decisions.

When the night came, he took his belongings, the bare minimum, and left a letter in Gwendal's office in which he explained everything about the engagement and the real reason of his departure. He also asked him to not follow and said goodbye.

Nobody was around, so he had all the time in the world to prepare his horse. He was almost finished when he felt a presence.

"If you have something to say, do it so I can leave."

The familiar pair of glasses came into view. "You did it, in the end..." said Murata.

"And it's none of your business, I think – came the almost harsh reply. "And what brings your Excellency here in the middle of the night, if I might ask?" The blond wasn't actually interested in that, but he didn't want to know anything about the impact his decision had on the others, especially on Yuuri, so he asked first to try and keep that subject away as much as possible.

"I figured out that you would do something like this...I came to say goodbye and to tell you to not..."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I didn't need anyone to see me off..." Wolfram interrupted.

"Not even Shibuya?" the boy tentatively asked.

"He is the last person I want to see now..." Wolfram's face showed a firm seriousness.

"He asked about you at dinner..." the Sage approached him.

"I was sleeping, I needed to rest." Again, Wolfram's emerald eyes were cold and hid every feeling.

"You should reconsider your decisions..."

What was this person doing? Trying to lecture him?

"I don't need your advice Great Sage, save it for the wimp... he'll need them..." Wolfram was starting to feel uneasy, being stared at through those glasses.

"Looks to me as if we have two wimps..."

His reply seemed to bring Wolfram back to his senses "It's the second time today that I don't understand what you're talking about, now if you will excuse me, I have a long trip ahead of me..."

"You're not going to visit your family, are you?" the Great Sage's voice reminded him of his own conscience.

"This is none of your business, farewell your Excellency and…" he paused for a few instants and then his voice betrayed his coldness for just a moment, "take care of the wim...of his Majesty, please."

He was on his horse now, but he wouldn't leave before making sure that the Sage would look after his ex-fiance.

"I will...as much as I can," he promised.

Finally a smile appeared on Wolfram's face. "Thank you."

And then he was gone.

Only the faint sound of a faraway horse reminded Murata of the blond soldier. Murata's face was worried...the last thing that came out of his mouth was lost in the wind.

"But I won't be able to take care of Shibuya if you're the one who'll hurt him..."

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And here, chapter one ends. Having shared this fanfiction previously on a lj community someone asked me why there is no description of Conrad and Greta's reaction to Wolfram's request and why Yuuri didn't follow Wolfram after he left the garden. For the first question, the answer is that the chapter, being written from Wolfram POV made us see only what he saw and on that particular moment he was looking only Yuuri, since he was really nervous about what he was going to tell him; for the second question you'll understand on next chapter because it deals with Yuuri and it will be from his POV.

I hope someone will read and review this, I accept concrit but I don't accept flames, you'll be ignored in that case.


	3. Chapter 2

Ok first of all thank you to all the people who gave this fanfic a try and commented! I was really worried because I know that the beginning is quite _clichè _so I was afraid that you would stop after the prologue.

Now I wanted to say some things; the first, which will become evident in the next chapter, is that in this fanfiction I'm focusing on novel Wolfram and novel Yuuri, that are (especially Wolfram) a little different from the anime version. I hope it will be a way for fans, to know more about how these characters are originally.  
The other important thing will be said at the end of the chapter.

Now I wanted to answer to some reviews:

**Midnight-Sunset**: your question will be answered in this chapter and thank you for putting my story between your favourites!

**I-chan**: thanks a lot! I've been working on what you said but for now it's already a miracle that I was able to post this in a understandable english. I'll work more I promise, and I'm honoured you've been watching my lj to gain more info about the novels! You should join some Maruma communities to access to more info.

**Priestessmykala**: I'm posting this story on my community on livejournal, but almost at the same time; usually I post there the day before I post here.

Thank you also to: ajgau1, lunagirl11, Sage-Libra (I like your fanfictions a lot!), GaLeAyA, --, Jazzieness, animefreak03, No0ne, vi-chan and Kaori.

Ok now time to start!

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It was, again, another lovely day in Shin Makoku. And again, the sun was shining bright and everything seemed to be right in the world.

Yuuri wanted to savor this moment as much as possible. He turned over in the bed, taking all its space and playing with the covers.

There was a gentle knock at the door. "Your Majesty, it's time to wake up," Conrad's warm voice spoke.

"Mhmm, not yet, five more minutes...so comfortable..." Yuuri replied, not really waking up.

"Sadly I have to insist. Gunter sent me to wake you, he wants to start your studies as soon as possible, since lately you've been avoiding him." Conrad stopped for a moment and added in an unreadable voice, "he seems to be convinced that you prefer to spend time with me..."

_Which is definitely true,_ Yuuri thought.

Conrad was finally back and they had a lot of catching up to do. He wanted for everything to be like it was before, as if nothing really happened, and it was going so well...

The door opened and the half mazoku entered the room. After looking around with a calm expression, Conrad opened the curtains and then sat on the bed.

"We can't have Gunter crying for the whole morning, you know that, your Majesty," the soldier tried again.

"Conrad, I won't answer you anymore if you don't stop calling me "your Majesty" came Yuuri's annoyed reply.

"Hai hai, I'm sorry Yuuri," he was smiling, "but still, you need to wake up, please?" Conrad's voice was nothing but kind and warm, it made him want to sleep more, to turn around and continue that dream in which he was winning the baseball match.

In the past months, Wolfram was the one who woke him up, and every time it was as if hell broke loose. He learned to expand his senses so that he could feel the firm steps of the blond and get ready before he stepped into the room, because being woken up by Wolfram's alto voice was like a nightmare.

Come to think of it, since Dai Shimaron, Wolfram stopped sleeping late and woke up before Yuuri...what a weird thing. But today, Wolfram didn't come and he had all the time in the world to remain in his bed.

He felt Conrad's hand on his forehead. "Yuuri, you sure you're ok? You never slept this long..."

_That's just because your brother didn't let me..._

A smile came to his lips. "I am Conrad, I really am..."

Suddenly the door opened again and a crying Gunter came in, screaming.

"Ah, heika, you don't want to study with me anymore?" Tears were coming down his face like tiny waterfalls as he continued, "we're past the time already...aaah this poor Gunter is being hated by his most beloved Heikaaaaa!"

Then, Greta came inside too, running, and plopped on Yuuri's bed. "Yuuri! Yuuri, come on, wake up, you promised me we would go to the city to buy me a new dress, please wake up?"

At this, Yuuri's ears perked up. "Greta what are you talking about, we will do that just right before lunch, don't worry." Yuuri reassured her, finally putting himself in a sitting position.

"But Yuuri," replied the girl, "it's now just right before lunch..."

Black eyes looked quite surprised. "Eh?? Eh?? How is it possible? Why did nobody wake me up hours ago?"

The faces his eyes met were confused.

Conrad was the first to speak. "When I offered to come to wake you they said you've been doing great and always waking on time to do everything...so we thought it would be the same today..."

"But that was only because I didn't want to be woken up by someone screaming at me, 'hey wimp, wake up or I'll have to kick your butt out of bed'!" came his flustered reply.

Again, people looked at him without being able to come up with a decent answer.

"Yeah," Greta spoke finally, "Wolfram papa always said that you shouldn't spoil Yuuri or he won't become a good king."

"So, apparently, Yuuri Heika needs to be woken up with screams...!" Gunter exclaimed.

"No, no, I'm ok, I'm sorry, it won't happen anymore."

_It might be that my senses didn't feel the usual steps and relaxed. It would make sense...after all nobody walks like Wolfram..._

"Ok, let's see. Greta, we can go and buy the dress for you now, and then we'll have lunch and then..."

"We can't, Heika!" interrupted Gunter, "You've been skipping your work too much, and today there won't be anything else but books for you. Oh Heika, I'm trying so hard to help you with your studies..." Again, he started crying.

"Ah, just my luck...Ok, Gunter, today I'm all yours...Sorry, Greta, can we do it next time?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

The girl seemed to think about it and then said, "But next time, try to keep your promise, ok?"

Yuuri's relieved smile came as always. "I will, I promise!" then, looking around, he said, "by the way, where is Wolfram?"

_It's all his fault for not waking me up on time...I'm going to get revenge for this..._

It looked like today he couldn't do anything better than leaving his friends and counsellors speechless...

"Heika, Wolfram left in the night. You know, when he decides something he always resolves to do it quickly..."

"Eh? So he already left? But..." looking at the half Mazoku, "Conrad...you said..."

"I'm so sorry Yuuri, I thought he would wait," the soldier's face was flustered.

**---the day before---**

To say that Yuuri was shocked was an understatement. Wolfram just told him to cancel their engagement. Yuuri knew he wanted it, but he always thought he would be the first to say it. Somehow, it didn't seem right if the first to break it was Wolfram... But oh, he wasn't going to complain.

Just that Wolfram ended screaming up at him again and then left. Sometimes he couldn't understand the blond at all.

He was going to follow him, after all he didn't want to fight, and definitely not right after they broke this never ending engagement, but a gentle yet firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"I'm sorry, seems that you two had some problems." Ah, dear old Conrad. He always managed to calm people down.

"Yeah, but this time he did all by himself, I didn't say anything at all!" Yuuri replied. "I should at least talk to him. I don't like to fight with people, even if with Wolfram I do it everyday..."

The hand on his shoulder didn't let him go. "I think that talking to him now would be useless, he wouldn't even listen to you. And since you don't know exactly what happened, you could end up worsening the situation..." Yuuri calmed, knowing that the big brother is always right. "Why don't you wait for him to calm down? I'm sure everything will be back to normal at dinner, or tomorrow."

Conrad's calming smile had the power to make everything seem less bad. Yuuri answered with a smile of his own. "You're right, Conrad."

But that evening at dinner, Wolfram didn't come. Yuuri asked where he was, and the answer was that he was probably sleeping, so he resolved to follow his Godfather's advice and wait until the following day.

**---back to present---**

"No, Conrad, it's not your fault..." Yuuri said, trying to cheer him up "nobody could have imagined he would leave during the night, after all," he paused and then continued, "oh well, he'll listen to me when he's back, and I'll get my revenge because he didn't wake me up," he said as he smirked.

Greta's singing voice interrupted him. "But you will forget about it in a few days. You're so nice daddy, I'm sure when he's back you won't remember this..." she was almost laughing.

"Oh yes? Well, then I'll have to write it down," he said as he went to the desk and took out a big paper.

"Here, I'll write, 'Get revenge on Wolfram for not waking me up'," then he lifted the paper and showed it to the others, very proudly.

Conrad was keeping himself from laughing and Gunter's face was ecstatic. "Oh, heika, how smart of you to write down things in order to not forget them!"

"Sa, now let's go Gunter, we have to study today..."

For one moment, he thought the violet haired man was going to die from happiness, but then everything went back to normal.

During the following days, that little memo started to grow.

One day, it was Yuuri's ability with swords. He was able to put Conrad in trouble, and he was so proud of it.

_I wonder what color his face will become when he hears this..._

Yuuri continued to write happily, and the list became longer and longer, and it was already at the third paper. One day it was: 'Show Wolfram how I became good at riding Ao, so he will stop calling me a wimp because I can't ride.' Another one was: 'Show Wolfram that I was able to finish signing all of my papers in record time, so he'll stop saying that I'm lazy.'

There were also times, although he would never admit it, when, while talking about decisions to make for the well-being of the country, he looked to his right, hoping for advice, and only found Conrad, who with his reassuring smile would say, "Whatever you decide will be the best, I'm sure of it."

Yuuri would then look in front of him, take a big breath and think that maybe sometimes it was nice to listen to a different point of view.

Then, one day, probably because Conrad was not in his best condition, Yuuri managed to disarm the soldier! He came running in his bedroom and took out the paper number 4 and wrote it down. He was so incredibly happy...he would go to Wolfram when he'll be back and say: "See Wolf, I was able to do so many things while you weren't there, now I dare you to call me wimp again!"

He found himself practicing the lines, the tone, how to move firmly without making him think he was overly happy but just as if it was something that came easily. But then, opening his eyes after the tenth time he repeated the same lines, he would find emptiness in front of him, no one to listen to his success, no one to fight with...

_It's no fun...how am I supposed to show him everything if he's not here? It's no use imagining his reaction; I want to see it for real! I bet it would be 100 times better to actually see his speechless face!_

With these thoughts in mind, he went to look out of the window and his eyes spotted a lonely figure. Everyone's life seemed to go on as always, nothing seemed to be changed, except for a little girl who, at the present moment, was walking in the garden.

Without thinking too much, Yuuri ran to the garden and called her name. "Greta!" he said cheerfully, "what are you doing here all alone?"

"Ah Yuuri," she tried to smile, "I was looking at the flowers. Wolfram papa said they don't bloom for a long time so I was looking at them now..."

Yuuri felt really frustrated. He could see in his daughter's eyes that she missed Wolfram a lot, just why was that selfish prince taking so long to come back? And why was his own daughter not complaining if it was obvious she wanted to see her Wolfram papa again?

_Papa? Now where does this come from? Greta is my daughter not his daughter!_

But he knew perfectly well; during this month, Yuuri came to understand that Greta and Wolfram had a relationship that would never change even with the annulment of the engagement.

He had enough, he had four papers full of things he needed to show Wolfram, or things he wanted to get revenge for, but there was no use if he wasn't there. With this thought in his mind, he hugged Greta, promising her that they would play together that evening, and left for Gwendal's office.

He stopped at the door, trying to calm down the turmoil he felt inside…for some reason he was nervous. Then, he opened it.

Gwendal was writing as always. Gunter was looking for a book, but his face lit up considerably after seeing his precious Heika.

"Ohh Heika, how nice of you to come here to see how I was doing," exclaimed Gunter.

"Ah, yes. I mean, actually I...wanted to know...did we get news from Wolfram?" Yuuri asked casually, "you know, he promised Greta he would watch the flowers bloom..."

_Great, now I'm using even my own daughter as an excuse..._

He could sense the sudden change of atmosphere.

While Gwendal seemed to not even acknowledge him, Gunter was strangely tense. "Ah, he is doing fine, he said that since his uncle is sick he'll remain there for a bit more..."

"I see...but, Gwendal, doesn't he have things to do here? I mean his troops or something?"

The older man didn't even raise his eyes. "Conrad can take over for that, and since the engagement was broken, his duties as your fiancé are not required anymore," he said as he finally looked at Yuuri, "also, you gave him the permission to leave and never stated exactly for how long, so he can take all the time he wants."

The answer given felt inexplicably like a stone on Yuuri's shoulder. "Oh, ok…well, can't you write him to say that Greta wants to see him?" Yuuri tried again.

"I have more important things to do, Heika," replied Gwendal.

"Don't worry, Yuuri, I'm sure Wolfram will be back soon," a voice spoke from behind him.

"Ah, Conrad. Yeah, I'm sure he will, it's just that Greta misses him..."

Yuuri felt a hand on his shoulder. "Then we'll try to make her happy so that she doesn't miss him, how about that?" Conrad's smile was always so nice, but somehow this time it didn't make him feel as if things would be fixed so soon, even if he could do nothing but agree.

Leaving the office, Yuuri went directly into his room and sat on the bed, taking out the long list. He contemplated it for a while, feeling a little hopeless.

"Why don't you write him personally?" A voice said, bringing him back to reality.

He got up, looking at the person who just entered. "Murata, what are you doing here? I thought you were having fun with the girls at the temple..." Yuuri said in a sarcastic voice.

"Oh well, you know... I just thought, let me check on my dear friend Shibuya, and then I happened to hear your little talk in Von Voltaire's office while coming here," his friend replied casually.

"Yeah sure..." Yuuri was definitely not satisfied with the answer.

"Anyway, why don't you write him? Like 'oh my dear Wolfram, come back! I can't wait to have you in my arms...'"

"Murata! You know perfectly well that it's not like that!" Yuuri interrupted him, with a light blush on his face.

"Is it so?" Damn, those glasses were unnerving...

"Greta is missing Wolfram a lot..." Yuuri said, "and then I love my daughter more than anything else."

"Ok, Shibuya I got it. So I say, why don't you write him? Tell him that Greta misses him and to come back, it should be quite easy, I'll help you write it if you want," offered the Great Sage's reincarnation.

Somehow, Yuuri didn't feel so at ease asking for Murata's help, but he knew that his mazoku writing was bad, so he didn't have any choice.

It didn't take a lot to fix a simple message that said,

"_Hey Wolf, how are you?  
How long are you planning to stay at your father's house? __Greta is missing you.  
See you soon.  
Yuuri."_

The message was sent via bird as always, and in the next days, Yuuri spent a lot of time looking at the window, hoping to see a familiar shape there.

It was one of those times that he saw the same bird come back with another letter. He opened it and made out the following:

"_To his Majesty, Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri,  
The person hereby being allowed the honour of writing to his Majesty is Wolfram's uncle. Some days ago, we happened to receive his Majesty's letter and saw that it was addressed to my nephew. Of course, the letter as of now is in my hands, unopened to preserve your privacy, but I'm sad to inform you that it never reached my nephew's hands because we haven't seen him since your coronation and we didn't get any other news regarding his present whereabouts and conditions.  
I'll make sure to give it to Wolfram if he ever comes here.  
__Best regards,  
Victor Von Bielefeld."_

Ok, now his hands were trembling. Wolfram never got to his family's house...Wolfram never got there... This means that Wolfram had disappeared without a trace for over a month.

Yuuri didn't realize he was running.

The door of Gwendal's office was almost broken, from the strength Yuuri used to open it.

"Wolfram is not at his family's house!" Yuuri screamed as soon as he entered.

Three pairs of eyes looked at him, slightly shocked. "Heika, what are you talking about?" Gunter asked in a faint voice.

"He is not there…not there, you understand? He disappeared, he might have gotten in some trouble while he was going there or something, nobody at Von Bielefeld's house saw him! We have to go, we have to look for him!" he continued to scream. Frankly, this slow reaction from the others was annoying him a lot.

"Yuuri," Conrad said as he approached him, "I'm sure that wherever he is, he is ok...you should calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, how can you be sure that your brother is not in danger?!" Yuuri stopped to take a breath, realizing he had said everything without breathing. "I want to go and look for him...right NOW!"

The three men in front of him tried to look everywhere but at him.

"You can't," said Gwendal calmly, "you have to stay here, there are some responsibilities you have to take care of..."

"But don't you care about your brother??" then looking at Conrad with pleading eyes, "please, Conrad."

"I'm sorry Yuuri, but I agree with Gwendal this time, you have to remain here, we can send..."

"I won't! I'll go to look for him at any cost," Yuuri insisted firmly.

"Then I'll have to put guards on your door and lock you in there," answered Gwendal, "we can't allow you to do as you please every time. And that's final!"

His answer left Yuuri shocked and hurt. He stormed out of the office, feeling frustrated, worried and powerless.

Again, he went into his bedroom and fell on the bed... He felt his insides clench. Never in all of his life had he felt more useless, and it seemed as if no one could understand him.

There was a knock on the door and a familiar voice called him.

"Yoho Shi-bu-ya, Muraken deesu!" The dark haired boy's eyes opened wide.

_Of course...Murata...he will help me! I just need to explain him what I found out..._

He ran at the door and opened it, dragging the boy inside. "Murata, listen, you have to help me, if you don't I don't know what I will do..." the king's voice was almost desperate.

The Great Sage's reincarnation was looking at him neither in a surprised nor in a curious way, though...and that was weird.

"Wolfram is not at the Von Bielefeld's. They didn't get any news from him either, and maybe he got into trouble... We have to look for him, but they are not letting me go!"

Murata Ken's face changed from calm to sympathetic and while sitting on the bed he said, "Shibuya, calm down, everything is all right."

"How can I calm down knowing that he is nowhere to be found, Murata? How can you be so insensitive?" Then it dawned upon him..."You...you know something, don't you?"

"Well, to be precise, everyone knows something you don't, Shibuya," he paused for a moment, checking the reaction of his friend, "weren't you surprised that neither Sir Von Voltaire nor Sir Weller were worried? Didn't you wonder why?"

"Murata, what do you mean?" Why was he feeling so scared?

"Everyone knew from the beginning that Von Bielefeld kyo was not going to visit his family. And as a matter of fact, nobody knew if and when he would be back..."

Yuuri didn't know what to think. Just one question kept repeating in his mind:

"But why? Why did he leave and why everybody but me knew??"

Ken looked at him with a serious face. "Why don't you ask him personally? Even if I doubt he would want to talk to you, since he asked his brother not to tell you the truth..."

More and more, Yuuri felt as if everything that was coming from Murata's mouth was as incomprehensible as a foreign language. Wolfram would never lie to him, Wolfram would never leave him without a good reason; he was sure of this like he was sure the sea was blue.

But maybe he was wrong...maybe he didn't know Wolfram as well as he thought.

"I feel so useless Murata..." the boy pressed his face to the pillow. Funny, he thought, he could smell Wolfram's scent there.

Those eyes looked sympathetically at him through the glasses. "Yeah well, it seems that lately 'useless' is an adjective being used often."

He doubted Yuuri was listening to him, though...

"I want to look for him, I want to make things clear and ask him why he left, he is my friend Murata..."

"You can't, Sir Von Bielefeld doesn't want to talk to you, and I doubt the others will let you go."

Yuuri raised his head and looked at Murata. "But you could help me, I'm sure that with your great experience you know how...don't you?" He hated to admit it, but he had to rely on his friend even if he knew that more than once Murata had lied or hid things from him. He was Yuuri's only hope now.

"As a matter of fact Shibuya, yes, I can, but you must be prepared because it won't be easy."

"I don't care," Yuuri interrupted him, "I want to go."

After a few hours, with a small bag ready, Yuuri was walking back and forth in his bedroom. Murata said he would come up with something useful and would tell the others that, being upset, Yuuri left for Earth to calm down. But what exactly his friend had in mind was still a mystery.

He just recommended for Yuuri to dress as a peasant and leave everything that could be recognizable at the palace. He couldn't even bring Conrad's necklace or Morgif, for some reason.

When it was already night, he felt the light, recognizable knock on the door and saw Murata coming inside with a triumphant smile.

"Here we go, Shibuya!" he said, and he took out from under his shirt a bottle full of...candies?

"Murata...what the hell is that? How is that supposed to help me?" Yuuri exclaimed, really confused.

"I know they might seem normal candies to you...but they are not. These are one of Anissina's inventions. I found them some time ago and thought they could be dangerous on her hands...but now they could be useful..." he stopped, making sure his friend was following him. "You see, when you put in your mouth one of these, you'll change your appearance..."

"Eh? You mean like a full transformation? Won't a wig and contact lenses be enough?" Yuuri replied, scared to think he would have had to eat something Anissina invented.

"But every one of your friends, Sir Von Bielefeld included, can recognize you with that, we need a better disguise for you, and this is perfect! Every candy lasts 10 days! We have more than 20 candies here so you can be ok for a while..." Murata tried again, "remember, this is the only way..."

Yuuri was still unsure, but it was true indeed that he needed a better cover than a wig and a pair of lenses. Without thinking too much, he took one of the candies and ate it.

"Murata..." his face showed all his pain, "this is the most disgusting thing I've ever tried in all my life...bleah..."

For a moment, he felt like he was going to faint. He closed his eyes and steadied himself on his feet. When he opened them he didn't feel any change.

"Are you sure it will work?" he asked, realizing that his voice was different. Ken was watching him with a surprised expression.

"I...I think so Shibuya..." and while saying this, he pointed at the mirror.

When Yuuri looked at his reflection, he couldn't believe in what he was seeing.

He had light brown hair, a little longer than usual, the shape of his eyes was different, more feline, and the color...a bright blue that reminded him of his necklace. His body was well built but not too much, a little more than what he originally was. In the end, he was completely another person, if they were in Japan he would have been a foreigner.

_Well, at least for once Anissina's invention worked..._

"I think the experiment went well...what do you think, Shibuya?" asked Murata, still a little surprised that it actually worked.

"Yeah, I think so..." Yuuri couldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror. He had to admit that it was weird to see another person in the mirror.

"Ok listen Shibuya, obviously you can't take Ao with you, so I prepared another horse for you. I'll check your luggage to make sure you have everything you need, and then you'll have to follow this." He took out something that was similar to a compass. "Use it to go to East. If I know Von Bielefeld, he'll want to spend this time in nature and on the mountains, and due East from here there is the biggest forest you've ever seen..."

"Hold on...how...how come you seem to know where he is?"

Murata smiled knowingly. "Oh well, I might have accidentally read the letter he left to Von Voltaire. Do you think his big brother would allow him to leave without knowing where he was directed?" It looked like Murata was enjoying this moment a lot. "Also, they needed to know because if something happened here, Wolfram would want to be contacted so he could come back in case of danger."

Yuuri felt as if he already walked a thousand miles. "I can't believe everybody but me knew..." There was a pat on his shoulder.

"Oh, come on Shibuya, the sooner you leave the sooner you can settle things and get your fiancé back!"

"Murata, I told you to stop! Besides, he is not my fiancé anymore. I'm surprised you didn't know that, since you happen to know everything," came the sarcastic remark.

"Oh I know, of course. Shibuya, you don't have any sense of humor, you know? Anyway, you'd better leave, I'll tell the others tomorrow."

And so, walking silently until the end of the garden, Yuuri saw the new horse, a brown one, waiting tied to a tree. After getting on it, he looked back at his friend.

"Murata...thank you." His smile was really sincere.

"Ahaha it was nothing Shibuya, you know I have your best interest at heart after all."

And then he, too, was gone. This time Murata's face had a smile plastered on it. "Go for it Shibuya, this might be a good experience for both of you, I hope everything will end well."

While Yuuri was riding his mind was full of a lot of things, so full that it did take a while to dawn upon him.

_Murata knew everything from the beginning, and yet...he helped me write the letter to Wolfram...why?_

Outside the castle, a pair of glasses was looking at the moon, still smiling.

"I admit it was pretty funny to see him so worried...ah, was I too bad? I bet he will be really angry when he realizes I made fun of him for all this time..."

He thought he heard a scream from far away...

"Murata, you bastard!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Here this second chapter ends, I hope you liked it, let me know ok?

Now ,the other thing I wanted to tell you . I tried and will try to keep Yuuri IC in this ff, and in my vision of Yuuri, (after reading the novels, listening to dramas and watching the anime) he doesn't realize he is in love with Wolfram the exact moment he finds out he disappeared, it's just too rashed. (It's only my POV of course).

A lot is going to happen from now on, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the fanfic too!

Sore ja


	4. Chapter 3

Here we go with chapter 3, thank you again to the readers who gave this fanfiction a try and reviewed it too. I really appreciate and treasure your comments because being my first work in english, I need feed back and concrit in order to improve. I still don't have a lot of confidence so even the shortest reviews help me

I really hope you'll find this chapter interesting...this is only the beginning of what's going to happen!

Disclaimer: I don't own KKM, sadly.

Now here we go!

This chapter too is from Yuuri POV

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was the first time Yuuri had travelled alone. And the worst part was that he didn't know where to go. He didn't have any idea on how to find what he was looking, or and how long it would take to at least arrive to the place that compass look-alike was pointing at.

Luckily, the new brown horse seemed to know the way pretty well. If he hadn't been so engrossed in his reflections, Yuuri would have realized that the horse was basically leading the way. But his mind was indeed following a different thread of thoughts, not even noticing the lands he was crossing, as fast as the wind.

His thoughts were pretty random, but there were two questions he kept asking himself: "How can I find Wolfram once I get there?" and "Why did I leave the castle like this?" His mind couldn't find an answer for either of them. As for the first one, he just hoped to be lucky enough to not get into trouble on his way. But the second one, well, it was still a mystery.

Yuuri knew that he needed to talk to Wolfram. He wanted to make things clear; to make him come back and have his friend at his side once again. But just how was he going to accomplish that? Judging from what Murata said, Wolfram left because of him. This was clear, but why? He also broke the engagement and even though they had a fight, he got the impression that Wolfram was not suffering over that, but even he had to admit it that it was weird.

He felt a little betrayed by that, although he would have never admitted it out loud. Yuuri always thought that he would be the first to break the engagement, and for some reason he's always been sure that if it was up to Wolfram, they would have never annulled it. The Mazoku prince's "I'm your fiancé," was a line Yuuri had gotten used to a long time ago. Somehow, the fact that the same person told him to cancel the engagement just didn't feel right.

Maybe Wolfram found someone else? Maybe he left because he wanted to stay with that person? In that case, why didn't he tell Yuuri? It's not something one should be ashamed of, after all. And just why did his stomach clench when he thought about this option?

_That's simple. If someone who is always near me and telling me he is my fiancé suddenly decides to break the engagement, no matter what my feelings are, I would feel betrayed, because it would make it look like every time he said that it was a lie... No wonder I'm reacting like this, it's just normal._

And so, a few days passed. Yuuri was lucky enough to always find a place to sleep, and with the weather being very nice on those days he didn't even need to cover himself during the nights. It was like camping out, even if being alone was boring. He hoped to find Wolfram soon and fix things so that both of them could go back to the Castle; but just how was he going to find him?

It took five days, and then Yuuri finally arrived near what the local people told him were the Mountains he was looking for. He could see green everywhere, this was really the biggest forest he had ever seen in all his life, and it spread over three quarters of the whole mountain. His frustration was at its peak; it was impossible to find someone in there, just impossible!

Yuuri sighed as he entered the forest, but the compass wouldn't help him anymore so he didn't have the slightest idea as to where he was going. All around him were trees, and trees, and more trees, and they all looked the same so there was no way he could find the way out. He didn't have any other choice but to go on, following the only small path he could make out.

While he was walking, he realized that little by little he was climbing up the mountain. He could see the path getting smaller and steeper, and on his right side the mountain was going down in a scary way. That could become a problem for his horse, so, since the sun was starting to go down, he resolved to stop for that day.

There was a glade visible from the path, just a little more on the inside of the forest and he tied his horse there. Going back to the small path, his ears caught some noise. It sounded like a spring or something similar.

_Perfect! I'm almost without water, but now I can get some!_

Memorizing well where the glade was, he resolved to follow the path to look for the water. Sadly, he didn't realize that the ground where he was walking, probably due to some rain in the previous days, was a little slippery and suddenly he found himself falling.

Yuuri didn't know exactly what happened in those few seconds, but the result was that he found himself hanging in space. His hand gripping the root of some tree or plant was the only thing that prevented him from falling down.

_Damn, damn, damn! I don't want to die here!_

He tried to move more than once, but the root seemed to give a little more every time he did.

_What am I going to do now?_

He hoped his Maou powers would help him, but strangely it wasn't happening, and the more he tried to move and climb, the more he was feeling himself slip. His feet were moving but the ground was only giving in under him.

_This is really the end..._

Yuuri felt the exact moment in which, with a big "crack", the root broke completely, and he closed his eyes. The sensation of falling made him lose his breath, but it only lasted for one moment, because then something caught his arm and started to pick him up.

Opening his eyes to look up, he spotted a familiar face. _Wolfram?!_

"Try to look for some place to put your feet on and push up as much as you can!" the blond said. Yuuri tried to do like he said but couldn't find any good place that wasn't slippery.

"Never mind, give me your other hand, I'll pick you up!"

Yuuri could feel the grip on his hand weakening. "Let go, you'll risk falling too!" he answered.

"That won't happen. I don't have any intention of dying here, so you'd better stop saying that and trust me!"

It was unbelievable; Yuuri was having déjà-vu. Slowly, but more firmly, this time he felt himself being lifted up...and finally his other hand was gripping the ground and pushing.

As soon as his body was not hanging anymore and his feet were on the ground again, Yuuri lost all his energy and fell to the ground. His savior, however, although breathing hard, was still standing, and with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

Looking at him, Yuuri could see that Wolfram had lost some weight and that his hands were a bit dirty, but as for the rest of him, he was stunning like always.

Yuuri smiled. "Thank you for saving me!" he said in a friendly voice.

Wolfram, without changing his expression, started to clear the dirt from his arms and trousers. "No problem, but you should be more aware of where you put your feet."

Just in that moment, Yuuri realized that Wolfram's clothes were quite dirty, as if he hadn't changed them for a while.

"Oh yeah, you are right, I'm sorry," Yuuri replied, slightly embarassed. Somehow he didn't picture his meeting with Wolfram to be so... strange.

_Of course, I'm so stupid. I'm not me anymore! That's why!_

"Well, good bye. And if I were you, I would leave this place before night." The blond turned away from him and started to walk away.

Yuuri panicked. "Wa…wait, please" he tried to stand up, but winced.

Wolfram stopped, looked Yuuri for a moment, and then his eyes rested on Yuuri's right ankle. The trousers were ripped and you could see some scratches there, but apparently the blond saw more. Without saying anything, he approached Yuuri and examined his ankle.

"Mhmm, it's definitely twisted," Wolfram said. Touching it lightly, he applied a soft pressure just to see how bad the damage was.

"Can you walk?" Wolfram asked.

Yuuri knew that with some effort he could, but he needed a reason to keep Wolfram there, so he lied. "I'm not so sure, I think I'll need some help…hehe..." he said, putting one hand behind his head to try and play it up.

The prince offered his hand. "Here, try to stand up. I have something that could help with me, but we have to go get it."

For Yuuri, it was as if he was looking at another person. For some reason he couldn't point out, this boy was so different from the Wolfram he knew. But any case, he needed help and found the perfect way to keep him there, so he took the blond's hand. Once Wolfram had helped Yuuri to his feet, Yuuri leaned on him to walk.

With the blond so near, Yuuri could smell his scent, and there was no doubt…this was Wolfram's scent. Yuuri felt himself relax a little now that he found the blond, and realized for the first time that having Wolfram so near, supporting him, even if at the moment Yuuri was a total stranger, felt unexplainably right.

They got to Wolfram's campsite pretty quickly and the blond made him sit on the ground.

"Show me your ankle," Wolfram said. It was more like an order than a request.

Yuuri couldn't understand what Wolfram had in mind, he didn't even have anything to treat him with, so Yuuri looked at him with a curious expression.

"Do you want me to fix it or not?" It was clear that Yuuri was starting to annoy the blond. Immediately, Yuuri lifted up a little of his trousers and showed him the swollen ankle. He saw the blond inspecting it and then putting both his hands around it...a blue aura circled the ankle.

_He is healing me?? Wolfram can heal people? _Yuuri thought his eyes were going to fall out, he was staring so hard, and the question came automatically.

"How come you can heal people?"

Wolfram didn't answer right away, he finished treating the wound, and then took something out of his bag and put it around Yuuri's ankle, after finishing he stood up.

"I'm a mazoku," Wolfram answered, looking at Yuuri as if he was expecting some kind of reaction, then, seeing none, he turned and took some water to drink.

Yuuri continued to stare at him, shocked.

Wolfram felt probably uneasy under that stare, because he stopped drinking.

"What?" he asked. "Usually when I say I'm a mazoku, either people get scared or excited, but I never got this kind of reaction. "Has your near-death experience made you forget how to speak?"

Yuuri continued to stare at him. "You…you..." he stuttered.

"You, you what?" Wolfram asked again, in an annoyed voice.

_He never told me he was able to heal...why? Ok, no time to think about this now, I have to find something to say or..._

"Ah…water!" Yuuri screamed, pointing at Wolfram's bottle.

The reply was almost sarcastic. "Yes, this is water, you can drink it or use it to wash yourself..."

"No…I mean, I was looking for water! I heard the sound of a spring or something, I was looking for it..." Yuuri said, blushing, embarrassed at his reaction.

"Oh, I see. That's why you were almost falling from the mountain," Wolfram pointed out. "There is a spring nearby, but I doubt you can walk..." Wolfram seemed to think for a moment, not particularly happy with the situation, but then he extended his hand. "Give me your water container, and I'll fill it up for you"

Yuuri looked around. "Ah, I forgot it with my horse!" he replied, looking down, still embarassed.

"You...forgot it with your horse and were looking for water without a container for it?" Wolfram asked in a very impatient voice.

"Ehehe sorry...I guess I was too engrossed in thinking about water, I forgot! Ehehe," He put a hand behind his head again, trying to smile.

"And where is your horse?" the blond asked.

"Well..." Yuuri looked around, not recognizing any of the trees.

"You...don't remember, do you?" Wolfram asked.

"I can't help it, all these trees look the same to me," came Yuuri's flustered reply.

"That's why people who are not used to the forest should not enter one," Wolfram said. Then, he continued, "and it seems that I'm destined to only meet wimps," but this part looked more like something he said to himself than to Yuuri.

_Wimp... It's been so long since I've heard you say that..._

Suddenly, Yuuri realized that he had really missed Wolfram a lot during this month. Now he couldn't even remember one of those long days when he spent his time writing on those papers. He found the blond again and was talking to him. A smile crossed his lips. He had so many things to tell him.

The prince was starting to take some wood for fire. "How is your ankle now?" he asked, without looking at him.

"Ah..." Yuuri said as he tried to move it, "much better, thank you!"

"I'm still not very good at healing, tomorrow I'll bring you to some friends who will be able to help you more," Wolfram replied.

"But I think I'm ok now..." Yuuri got a hard stare from the blond.

"Never underestimate the problems that a twisted ankle could give when not properly treated." The reply left Yuuri without anything more to say.

The sound of a horse could be heard approaching and after some moments Yuuri's horse came directly into view, going to near Wolfram's horse.

"Ah...good job boy!" Yuuri exclaimed, recognizing the horse.

Wolfram was slighly surprised. "Is this your horse?" Yuuri nodded, and then Wolfram went on. "Impressive, he was able to find you…I'm surprised."

"Oh well, he is a really good horse," Yuuri replied happily. "By the way, I'm...I'm Chris, nice to meet you!" he continued in a friendly tone.

_Chris...nice one...I've always wanted a name like that...  
_

The blond looked at him. "Wolfram" he replied.

"I'm going to get you water now," Wolfram said, as he took the water container that was hanging from Yuuri's horse. "Check the fire, it's already night and it's very dangerous to walk in the forest at this time. Tomorrow, I'll take you where you can have your ankle treated." Then, using a little of his power, he lit a fire that started to burn the wood he previously got.

"And you're leaving me here?" Yuuri asked, a little frightened. "Aren't...aren't you afraid I might be a thief or someone dangerous?"

The blond turned to look at him. "You look more like a wimp to me, and wimps might be a lot of things but…" he smiled, his tone a little warmer, "they definitely are not dangerous".

Without adding more, he left, leaving Yuuri a little dumbfounded. That was the first time he heard Wolfram talk in that tone. He had almost the same smile that he remembered seeing on him only one other time; when he told him about Conrad being his father figure.

Now that he was gone, Yuuri felt inexplicably alone. Granted, he had spent alone a few days to come here, and he had gone with out seeing Wolfram for more than one month, but now, just the few minutes he left to get water felt too long. Looking at the fire, Yuuri thought about the first impression he got from the blond now that they had met again. It was unusual for Wolfram to be so nice with a stranger, he was sure of it...

_But come to think of it, the other times he was always suspicious because he thought people could harm me..._

The forest looked so scary at night. When Wolfram came back, Yuuri was relieved. Those noises that he knew were perfectly normal, like the wind through the trees, were starting to scare him.

The blond wasn't very talkative though. He started to cook on the fire some kind of animal. Yuuri didn't even want to know what was.

"So, how long have you been here, Wolfram?" Yuuri asked, to try to start a conversation.

"Around 3 and a half weeks," came the reply.

"It's pretty here…so relaxing. Isn't it?" Yuuri tried again.

Wolfram didn't answer, he continued to cook and time passed in silence. When it was done, Wolfram started to eat, and it looked as if he didn't really care who he was with.

Yuuri was watching him intently, partly because it was the first time he saw the blond remain silent for so long, and partly... because he was hungry but didn't have anything to eat, so he was staring at that piece of meat as if it was the most delicious thing ever.

His stomach decided to let itself known, and Wolfram looked at him, surprised. "You didn't get anything to eat?" Wolfram probably thought that he had something...

"Ehehe no, I finished all my food this morning," Yuuri answered sheepishly.

Wolfram looked at the meat he was eating. It was not that much, but he split it in two and gave one half to Yuuri.

"Eat, I definitely don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night thinking I have some wild beast near me when it's only your stomach." The gratitude Yuuri felt was incredible.

_It's true that he is bratty and annoying_,_ but under that he is nice, even with someone he doesn't know_.

For some reason this realization, added to the rest, was increasing the feeling that Yuuri really didn't know Wolfram as fully as he had always thought. He just stopped at his appearance and had not looked at what was more evident. He never stopped once to ponder that maybe there was something else in the boy.

In some certain ways, Yuuri did know this Wolfram. There had been times, during these months, when the blond had tried to talk to Yuuri about Conrad and cheer him up, or when he'd slapped him when Yuuri insulted Murata's mother, in which he got a glimpse of another part of his fiance...**(°)**

_Ok, ex-fiance._

But he was too busy thinking about his own needs and pain probably, to see Wolfram's.

In all this time, Yuuri had just stared at the piece of meat in front of him, reflecting.

"If you don't want, it I'll take it back and eat it. It's hard to find food here, and I definitely don't want for it to be wasted!" Wolfram's voice brought Yuuri back to reality.

"Oh no, thank you!" Yuuri said and as he started to eat his meat in silence.

Right after eating, Wolfram took two big blankets from his backpack and put them on the ground. Yuuri realized it was actually time to sleep and took out his, too.

"Sleep near the fire," the blond said. "Wild animals stay away from fire, so you should be pretty safe."

He didn't say anything else, and, keeping his sword near him, he turned around and went to sleep.

Night in the forest was definitely colder than the ones Yuuri had spent coming there. He could feel his feet and hands really cold and he was shivering. How come he only had one blanket? He was sure he brought at least two. In the end he sneezed twice, and at the second sneeze his companion turned around.

"What kind of stupid wimp could decide to spend days in a forest with only that blanket?" Wolfram's voice very annoyed. Then he hmpfed and got up, taking one of the two blankets he was using. Coming near Yuuri, he let the blanket fall on him.

"Use it fully, wrapping it all around your body. It will definitely keep you warmer." Then he went back to his place and did the same.

"Thank you Wolfram, really, you're very kind," Yuuri smiled.

Yuuri could see that his sentence had left the Wolfram really surprised. "In not even 6 hours you half killed me when I tried to save you, took half of my food, and half of my blankets! Don't push your luck, brat, or I'll take that thing back!" he replied, trying to cover his embarassement.

_Looks who's talking...if I remember correctly you are the spoiled brat! _But somehow that description didn't fit the person Yuuri saw before him right now.

That was all they said for the night. Even if he was really warm now, sleep was not coming, and Yuuri spent over one hour looking at Wolfram's face. He couldn't explain why he did it, probably because Wolfram was undeniably beautiful, but it was as if he was seeing something more this time. But what this "more" was, Yuuri couldn't say.

Yuuri was woken up quite early by a familiar voice. "Are you planning to sleep all day? Come on, we have to get going. The village is not far, I have to bring you there to check your leg!"

It took a while for Yuuri to realize he wasn't in his bed, but then he was up and riding his horse in less than ten minutes. Wolfram's firm requests still sounded more like orders.

After getting on the horse, the two boys rode for around half an hour. Then, in front of them, in a large field that was practically in the middle of the mountain, a small village came to view.

When they arrived, Yuuri could see two boys and one girl running towards them.

"Wolfram! Wolfram!!" That was all they were saying, their smiling faces showing their happiness.

Yuuri then saw Wolfram get off his horse and pick the girl up. "Marie, how are you?" he asked, smiling.

"I was so bored Wolf, we were all waiting for you! Big brother Al is always being mean to me!" the girl complained.

"I was not!!" said one of the two boys in an annoyed voice, "you are too weak to fight against us yet you want to play sparring!" The third one was simply smiling, silently asking Wolfram to pick him up.

To Yuuri, everything seemed so alien. Wolfram was actually being nice with children that were probably human. Wolfram was smiling at them and picking them up, acting as if he were one of the family.

"All of you've been doing well I see!" Wolfram commented.

"That's because I promised that you were going to spend more time with them next time you were back!" said a voice behind them.

Turning around, Yuuri saw a young man, around 20 probably. You couldn't say he was attractive, but he was definitely a good looking guy. And had a nice smile, and Yuuri could see it because he was smiling broadly at Wolfram.

"You shouldn't use me to calm down your siblings, Damien!" replied Wolfram, faking annoyance.

"Why not? You became like family for them, after all" Damien replied, while walking up to Wolfram and putting a hand around his shoulder's.

Looking at the scene, Yuuri found himself even more confused than before.

_What the hell is happening here?_

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**(°)**These memories are not invented for the fanfiction, it really happened in the novels, both Wolfram trying to talk to Yuuri when he was depressed for Conrad, and the blond slapping Yuuri; he did it because Yuuri was insulting Murata's mother and after the slap Wolfram said: "Weren't you the one who taught me to not offend other people's parents?"

Again if people are shocked to see this Wolfram, I can understand, but this is the Wolfram shown in the novels, I would love to spend days to tell you how wonderful he is in the novels but this is not the right time (but you'll get the idea if I tell you that Wolfram is the favourite character of KKM writer) I hope you'll tell me what you think of novel Wolfram, especially those of you used to anime Wolfram who is a little different

I just wish the novels were available in english, I'm sure a lot of people would love WolfYuu/Yuuram interaction there.

Hope you'll read and review! I have other two chapters ready but I might wait to post them so I can see if there are people really interested in this story XD


	5. Chapter 4

Here we are at chapter 4, I really want to thank all the people who spent two minutes to review this fanfic, I appreciated it a lot.I'm still unsure, I mean, I don't know how many Maruma fans are used or interested to see this Wolfram and I'm quite afraid a lot of people won't appreciate this other side of the character, but this side was the one that made me fall in love with Wolfram in the novels and I really wanted to portray it for everyone. I hope also the plot is interesting enough for you, let me know ok?

Now, to answer some questions:  
Yes Wolfram in the novels is very different, and for now the novels are being released only in Japan (but I know that there is around also the chinese version for 7 of them): there are currently 14 novels and the serie is continuing and becoming darker and darker every new volume.

Sadly for Wolfram fans, the latest novel ended with a big cliffhanger, I'm still suffering over that!

I guess if people are interested I might post some links on my profile so I can show you a little more of Wolf's novel personality. I like to translate for my Wolfram community on livejournal a lot of drama cds and novel extracts, I might link something so people here can enjoy them too.

Ok, now on the chapter!  
Of course the usual disclaimer, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou! nor its characters, I only own Damien and the Ocs that appeared in this ff.

Thoughts are in italics, this chapter too is from Yuuri's POV

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The scene he was looking at seemed so foreign to Yuuri's eyes. He didn't even get off his horse, he just stood there, frozen, as if he was watching a TV show or something.

Wolfram, his fianc...no ex-fiance was being nice to another guy while three children were running around him, playing happily. Somehow, Yuuri found that there was something incredibly wrong with what he was seeing.

He saw the blond pointing at him and beginning to walk toward him, the other guy right beside.

"Hey, nice to meet you! I'm Damien" the young man said with a warm smile.

For some reason, Yuuri couldn't mirror that smile. "Ah, it's my pleasure, I'm...Chris!"

Then, Yuuri saw Wolfram approaching the side of his horse. "Come on, I'll help you get off, you should be careful in using your ankle," he offered.

_Hold on, since when is Wolfram so friendly? Just up to five minutes ago he was silent and almost grumpy_.

Yuuri got off the horse with too much strength, and landed directly in Wolfram's arms. They were so near he could feel the blond's breath. The king felt his heart skip a beat, he was mesmerized by Wolfram's face and vivid green eyes as he recalled his first meeting with Wolfram. When he first saw Wolfram and had called him a pretty boy and . . .

'_what in the world am I thinking!?'_

Realizing the direction of his thoughts, Yuuri retreated away from Wolfram quickly. He almost lost his balance as a result and blushed. But the blond didn't seem so affected, it was as if everything was normal. After making sure Yuuri could stand, Wolfram turned to Damien.

"So, do you think we could see Mr. Krek? I healed him, but I was a little tired, so it might not be enough." Wolfram asked.

"Ah sure, can you walk Chris?" Damien asked again.

"Yes, I think I can..."

"Here, lean on me!" Damien offered. Yuuri had to admit that this man was a nice person, but...

_I would have preferred Wolfram!_ he thought, a little disappointed. But said blond was already in front of a little house, waiting for them. He opened the door and let Yuuri and Damien inside.

There was an old man there; Yuuri understood that it was the doctor of the village.

Wolfram, after helping Yuuri to sit down, talked a little with the older man explaining what happened and then left them alone, exiting the house with Damien.

Yuuri panicked, he didn't want to be left there! While he automatically answered the doctor's questions, his thoughts were always returning to the blond and what he had seen before.

When the check up on his ankle was done, Yuuri thanked the doctor and asked him if he had to pay something for the help, but the answer left him shocked.

"Don't worry," the man said, "you're with Wolf and he did so much for us, you don't have to give me anything." There was a thankful smile on his face.

_What? What did Wolf do for them?_ Yuuri wondered.

There was something really weird happening and he couldn't find an explanation. First, Wolfram was actually being friendly and nice with a stranger and his family. Second, Wolfram apparently did a lot for these people and their village, and just what did this "a lot" mean? Third, Wolfram was actually being friendly and nice with a stranger.

_Ah, no_,_ that was the first one already_.Yuuri realized he was more shocked to see Wolfram being at ease with someone than knowing that the prince had helped humans.

Leaving the doctor's house, Yuuri looked at the only small street the village had. There were houses all around, some of them a little damaged and some partially destroyed.

He had to find Wolfram again, damn it! But he didn't know where to start!

Then, the King felt a tug on his trousers and looking down, he saw the little girl from before. "Are you looking for Wolf?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, actually I am," he said, smiling. "Do you know where he is?" his tone was hopeful.

The girl just pointed at the end of the street.

"Thank you!" Yuuri said, patting her on the head.

Walking down the small street, he could see people around looking at him with curious expressions. It was evident that everyone knew each other in this place, that's why they were looking at the "foreigner" in that way. He felt a little embarrassed and tried not to stare at them.

Finally, Yuuri arrived in front of a semi-destroyed house that was being re-built again. There were a lot of men there, all of them working, and he could make out the shape of Wolfram between them, cutting some wood.

"Ah...Wolfram!" Yuuri shouted, smiling, not realizing that in the same moment everyone looked his way.

Wolfram looked at Yuuri, a little embarrassed. He stopped his work and approached him.

"Next time you call me, make sure not to scream, please!" the blond said in an embarrassed voice, looking behind him.

"Ah come on, Wolf, you saved his life, took care of him last night, it's obvious that he wanted to see you…there's no need to have such a reaction!" Again, it was Damien who had spoken, while putting his hand on Wolfram's shoulder. AGAIN.

_Couldn't he try to be less...friendly with Wolfram? It's not like he has to touch him every time they talk..._

At Damien's remark, Wolfram visibly relaxed and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was screaming!" Yuuri said with a regretful voice.

"It's ok, make sure not to do it again," the prince replied, without looking at him.

"So, are you going to leave now, Chris?" Damien asked.

"Ah, no..." Yuuri said. _Come on invent something...something..._ "I wanted to look around this forest a bit, it's the biggest I've ever seen..." he tried.

"That's really interesting, it's also what Wolf here is doing, you know?" Damien said, and then his hand was on Wolfram again, this time on his head. "He stops here for a while and then goes around..."

_Ok now or never, here it goes_…Yuuri took a deep breath.

"What a coincidence! I was planning to travel alone, but apparently it gets boring after a while and if it wasn't for Wolf I would have died..."

Wolfram was looking at him with an indescribable face.

"Well, it might be nice to go around all of us together, what do you say Wolf? At least until Chris becomes familiar with this part of the forest!" Damien said.

_What does that mean, "all of us"? Is he going to come too??_

"I guess it's ok, as long as he doesn't become a problem..." the blond answered, after thinking for a moment. "Come on boy, I'll show you where you'll sleep," he continued, "we can't possibly have you at Damien's house, it's barely big enough for his family. You'll sleep at my house."

Yuuri had never thought that the prince could shock him so much in one day. _Wolfram has...a house??_

Damien laughed. "Yeah, sorry, my house is full!"

And so, Yuuri started to follow Wolfram. The blond was not talking at all, now that Damien was not with them. Yuuri felt a slight uneasiness…he wanted to try to start a conversation, but he was afraid of Wolf just simply ignoring him, like he had the night before.

The walk didn't last long, and soon they ended up in front of one of the smallest houses Yuuri had ever seen. It looked like the ones they rent in Japan to young university students; inside there was a bed, a table, and pretty much…the bare minimum. The young king wondered if he was able to fit in there at all.

"So..." Yuuri tried again, "you live here?" Yuuri really hoped to make Wolfram talk.

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?" came the cold reply.

"How long have you been living here?" He really needed to make the blond talk more, he wanted the prince to be more friendly, like he was with Damien...

Wolfram looked at him, a little annoyed. But after a moment, he sighed, and then answered. "For around three weeks," he said as he sat on the bed. "People here let me keep this house, it belonged to a villager who died some months ago, and it's too small for the families that live here."

"They all look very kind," Yuuri said, starting to relax a little.

The prince smiled slightly and looked at him. "You can sit down, you know. You shouldn't be standing, the bed is not the best but it's not bad." He patted the place next to him on the mattress.

Shyly, Yuuri went to sit down, and again silence fell over the two.

Then, Wolfram stood up. "I'm going out. I have to help the men who are rebuilding that house." he looked at Yuuri.

"Ah, I want to come too!" Yuuri said. "They are being so nice and you are being so kind to share your house with me, I want to help!"

At this, the mazoku prince smiled a little. "You're still recovering. You can start tomorrow, but for now, get comfortable here. We don't need someone who would only slow the job."

Yuuri had to admit the way Wolfram said it hurt, but he was right: he would only be a problem since he couldn't move very well. "At least let me come to see what you all are doing, so tomorrow I'll be prepared! And I won't take 'no' for an answer!" he insisted. "I want to help too even if I can't do a lot, please, I want to thank you and the others!" He stood up and winced a little, but one could read in his eyes that he was serious.

Wolfram sighed. "Wimp!" The tone he used had so much in it. He probably said it in an annoyed way, but behind that there was kindness, affection and…pain?

Yuuri only smiled at his remark.

_I guess even when I change my appearance, you can see through me as always, ne Wolf?_

Without adding anything else, the blond approached Yuuri and took him by his shoulder. "Lean on me, so you won't stress your leg too much," he said. "Today, you are just looking at how things are going here and you'll tell some story to the children so that they won't get bored watching their parents working, ok?"

Again, it sounded more like an order than a request.

"Yes!" Yuuri said, smiling at the blond who, surprisingly, smiled back this time.

The young king felt a little more relaxed now that it looked like they established some kind of relationship. Even his leg felt better, although he would die before admitting it; he liked leaning on Wolfram, he was desperately trying to make the blond trust him. But the King understood that now he had to start again with the prince.

_I'm just a stranger to him now..._

When they arrived back at the house, Damien smiled and waved at them.

Wolfram left Yuuri sitting on a chair and called the boys around, telling them they had a new storyteller for that day. Before starting his work again, he patted Yuuri on the shoulder. "Good luck! You'll need it!"

And then, the blond was once again at his place, cutting the wood. Yuuri used everything he knew to make the children interested. He sometimes saw the mazoku prince looking at him, probably to check on how he was dealing with the boys. Apparently, Wolfram was pleased - even if Yuuri was only watching him out of the corner of his eye, he could see a satisfied smile on the blond's face.

It was in a moment where the children decided to play "hide and seek" that he felt someone sitting near him.

"You're good with children!" It was Damien, who had the ever present smile on his face.

_Does this guy always smile?_ Yuuri asked himself.

"Ah, yeah, I love children!" Yuuri replied.

"And it also seems that Wolfram doesn't mind you at all, now," Damien continued. "From what I see, he likes you."

This made Yuuri blush and look at his feet. _That's right...now I see, Damien reminds me of Conrad..._

Before finishing his train of thought, Yuuri felt a strong pat on his shoulder.

"Hey, I didn't mean it that way, boy!" Damien joked.

_Ok…and maybe also Jozak, but... he is not certainly a bad person..._

Then he, too, was gone, Yuuri saw him approaching Wolfram and hugging him from behind smiling and laughing, making the blond look at him with an annoyed expression...even if Yuuri could see that the blond was not really annoyed.

_I take that back, he is NOT nice. He is too touchy; what the hell? I should be the one to say who Wolf likes and who he doesn't, I've known him for a long time!_

But somehow, the Wolfram he had in front of his eyes was not the Wolfram he knew anymore. He could still see some traits of the old selfish prince, like his being annoyed a lot, or his grunting and hmpfing, his being so direct with his statements that it was sometimes hurtful.

On the other hand, there were things that Yuuri was discovering and that made him realize that there was way more behind that "face" Wolfram showed to people. The question that came to his mind tasted of regret. Was Wolfram not showing a part of himself to Yuuri, or was Yuuri too engrossed into his own life and problems and "other friends" to see the real Wolfram?

He couldn't answer, but there was nothing that would prevent him from getting to know Wolfram again now! And Yuuri realized this was going to be the best chance he could have.

Now, if only that Damien would stop patting his fiancè's head and touching him he would have had a wonderful day!

That same evening, both Wolfram and Yuuri were invited to have dinner with Damien's family. Yuuri learned that Damien was basically one of the few young people that were in the village. Being so small and in the middle of the mountains, many of the sons of the other families had decided to leave, either to join the Maou's military force or to find a better way to live, far from there. The result was that the village was full of children, women and old people. Young men and women, even if they met there, once married, usually left the village, hoping to find fortune in other places.

Damien was one of the few young men who remained, helping out and taking care of his family. His father was dead and he was in charge of three younger siblings and his mother.

Around three weeks earlier, during a thunderstorm, a lightning got one of the biggest trees near the village. It fell down, burning, and the fire spread in the neighbourhood, destroying the houses. Nobody died, but a lot of people were badly hurt. That's when Wolfram arrived, and helped people by using his maryoku.

"He was a really grumpy guy, you know," Damien joked, looking at Wolfram, who kept eating.

"But then we saw him playing with Marie and realized there was more than meets the eye," Damien laughed. "Our beautiful angel actually had a soft heart!"

"Stop that, you know I hate it when you call me that," came the cold reply, though Yuuri could see a light blush there.

So, for all this time, Wolfram had been living like a peasant, helping some humans and healing people. It was unbelievable to imagine the blond doing all these things. The same Wolfram who used to sleep in his bed with a pink nightgown, paint horrible things, and was always screaming "cheater!" now was living like that. For the whole evening, Yuuri couldn't stop looking at the prince, except when Wolfram looked his way, but then he continued anyway.

_How much do I still not know about you_,_ Wolf?_

While they were chatting, some man came to the house asking for Wolfram to go check on his wife, who apparently was a little sick. Yuuri would have gladly gone with him, and was standing up to do just that.

"You should go to sleep," Wolfram said, stopping him. "Tomorrow will be a hard day. Damien can bring you back to the house," he continued.

Yuuri was busy watching Wolfram as he left, but he spotted Damien coming toward him.

"Let's go!" he offered.

The walk to Wolf's house was silent. The atmosphere was really awkward, for some reason Yuuri couldn't point out. He felt as if Damien wanted to say something, but the king couldn't understand what that could be.

When they got to the house, Damien entered with him. While Yuuri sat on the bed, the man went to the window and looked outside.

Yuuri didn't know what to say, but apparently Damien did. "You know, I was really surprised when he brought you here..." he started.

Yuuri looked at him curiously... The tone of his voice was quite different from the one he had used up to now.

"He is nice, yeah, but he doesn't usually show it around so much..." Damien continued, "and definitely not in this way. I mean, helping you, bringing you here, and offering you his house…It wasn't a problem, we could have arranged for you to stay with me and my family..."

Yuuri didn't have any idea what Damien was trying to tell him and why

"You are nice, but I've seen him being cold with people way nicer than you." Damien finally looked at Yuuri. "That's why I don't understand...what does he see in you?"

For Yuuri it was as if he was seeing another person, completely different... Those eyes were looking directly through him. "But it was you who offered me to spend time with you two!" Yuuri replied.

"Just because I wanted to see his reaction. I didn't expect him to be ok with it so quickly," Damien answered.

A question came to the king's mind, but he was actually afraid to voice it out loud. In the end, his curiosity won out over his fear.

"Is there something between you two?" Yuuri wasn't really sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Damien smiled. "Listen, you've been here and with him for only one and a half days, but I think it's better to state things clearly from the beginning." He paused, and then added with determination, "Don't fall in love with him".

At this point the old Yuuri came back. "Me? With him? For god's sake we're both men, I would never fall in love with him!" his reply was so sudden that Damien was taken aback a little.

"What's the problem if you're two men?" he asked, "I've seen the way you were looking at him today. I know he is handsome but just forget it, it's better," he concluded.

"I was NOT looking at him in any particular way!" Yuuri answered quite forcefully.

_And what the hell…even if I was? And what's with this, "you've been with him for only one day"? We've been together for a long time! He is MY FIANCÉ!_

No, actually he was not his fiancé anymore. And he was not even interested in Wolf in that way. He just wanted his friend back and wanted to return to the castle with him... Was this too much to ask for?

"Well, this means I was wrong, I'm relieved now," Damien said, smiling again, this time in the old warm way.

They heard the door open, and the subject of their talk came into view. "Oh you're still here, Damien?" Wolfram said, putting some bags on the floor and taking off the first shirt he was wearing.

Yuuri could see the way Damien was looking at him now...

"I was leaving, I talked a little with Chris so he wouldn't get bored while waiting for you!" the man replied cheerfully. "Now it's time to go, see you tomorrow!" he waved, closing the door behind him.

Yuuri couldn't stop looking at Wolfram now. While the blond went out to wash himself and then came back, a lot of thoughts were forming in Yuuri's mind, and he realized at one point that the prince was looking at him with a curious face.

"You ok?" the blond asked.

"Oh, yeah," Yuuri answered. "I'll go wash myself outside now," he said, while going out.

The words of Damien kept ringing in his mind:"I've seen the way you were looking at him today…" _I was NOT looking at him in that kind of way, I was just surprised for what I was listening to!_

When he came back, he found Wolfram preparing for bed and realized the main problem.

There was only one bed. His embarassment grew.

"Ah, I'll sleep on the floor, could…could you give me that blanket you used when we were in the forest?" Yuuri asked.

Wolfram looked at him with a surprised face. "I don't mind, we can just share this bed if you're ok with it. The floor is quite cold, you'll risk getting sick even with the fire going, the bed is small but I think both of us can fit."

Now, he was sure the blush on his face was evident. On the contrary, Wolfram suggested it with the most normal expression he could ever have.

"Are...you sure?" Yuuri needed a confirmation.

"As long as you don't plan to jump on me while I'm sleeping, it's fine with me," Wolfram answered without any malice.

"And why would I do something like that!" came the almost immediate flustered reply.

Yuuri thought he saw a little smile on the prince's face. "Yeah, ok, no need to get so heated up," he said, lying down on the bed. "You're even wimpier than I thought!"

"I'm not a wimp!" The reply left his mouth before he could control it.

He saw Wolf's eyes open more...but almost immediately go back to normal.

_For a moment I thought he discovered me!_

Without adding anything else, Yuuri went to bed too. Wolfram's body was really warm and now that they were forced to be so near, Yuuri realized how much he missed the unmistakable scent and warmth of his friend.

The blond was fast asleep and, like a lot of other times, Yuuri found himself looking at his expression while sleeping.

Damien's words were still in his ears: _"Just don't fall in love with him..."_

Yuuri resolved to sleep, turning away from the blond's face. He didn't know why, it just seemed better...but that unanswered question didn't let him sleep for a while.

_Ne Wolf, is there something between you and Damien? _

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And that's all for now.

I have ready also chapter 5 but I guess I'll wait to see if after this chapter someone is still interested and then decide if I have to wait or not for the next one. I hope I didn't disappoint you!  
As always, I love your reviews, hope they'll keep coming, they make me write faster and post faster.If you have any question about the novels, feel free to ask me, I'll gladly answer you.


	6. Chapter 5

First of all, thank you for the comments the previous chapter got!  
I'm so happy that people are leaving reviews and giving me their opinions! It's really important to me, to know that there are people interested in this fanfic and in knowing the characters from the novel POV!  
I'm so unsure about them, that's why I'm always waiting before posting another chapter, because the novel characters are different from the ones you got to know with the anime and I don't know how many people are interested in them. The more the fanfic goes on, the more you'll get to know them, I'll knew from the review if you got tired of not so...review pretty please? XD

I hope you'll like this chapter too, it's always from Yuuri's POV.

Usual disclaimers apply.

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Morning came too soon, Yuuri thought, when he felt someone shaking him.

"Come on, it's time to wake up! You're really lazy! Come on!"

But that alto voice was unmistakeable, and he smiled unconsciously.

"Yes, I'm up..." Yuuri said, trying to open his eyes. When Yuuri finally succeeded, he saw that Wolfram was already dressed, and on the table was a cup full of hot milk with some bread.

"I know it's not much, but people here are poor and this is the best we can offer," the blond said, eyeing the way Yuuri was looking at his "breakfast."

_It's the best WE can offer? _

"Ah, it's ok, don't worry. I'm so hungry, I could eat anything at the moment," Yuuri replied, smiling. And he noticed a satisfied expression on Wolfram's face before the blond pointed at a chair where some clothes were hanging.

"I think they will fit you, so you can change into something clean for today."

Yuuri got up and examined them. "Yes, I think they'll be perfect!" he agreed. "Thank you, Wolf!"

At that point, Wolfram started to fix the bed and, when finished, he sat on it and looked at Yuuri while he was eating.

"You...are human aren't you?" The question caught Yuuri completely off guard.

_What do I say? How can I answer?_

"Ah, yes, I am." He nodded, not looking directly at the blond.

"So I guess you must be around 16 or 17..." Yuuri couldn't understand if this was a question directed to him or just something Wolfram said to himself.

"I'm 16." he replied.

That's when he realized that Wolfram wasn't looking at him, but at one point in the middle of nowhere, as if he was too engrossed in his thoughts. Then the blond got up and approached Yuuri, going eye-level with him.

"This means you're still a brat," Wolfram said, and Yuuri noted he had a satisfied smile.

"You'll do everything I tell you to do." Wolfram patted him on the head and added, "after all, I'm 84, so I'm way older than you."

_Eh? 84? Wasn't Wolfram 82?_

"Ohi? You're still with us?" the blond asked, waving his hand in front of Yuuri's face.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry..."he apologized. "So," he continued with a smile, "I'm ready to help!"

The smile Yuuri saw on Wolfram's lips was so contagious that he couldn't help but smile, too, and frankly, after one night, he realized he couldn't care less of Damien and his words. He wanted to get to know Wolfram again, and nothing could make him change that!

When they left the house, they met said young man on the way, and for some reason, Yuuri, who had been in a really good mood up to that point, suddenly felt uneasy.

"Hey, you two, did you sleep well?" Damien asked, friendly as always.

"Yes, very well, thank you!" Hold on, how come Yuuri's voice, that wanted to simply answer to the question, came out so daring?

And while Wolfram was oblivious to that, the tone wasn't missed by Damien, who gave Yuuri a hard stare.

In the following days, Yuuri felt as if destiny really gave him another chance to get to know Wolfram. And, to add more good points, he always managed to find himself alone when the power of the candies ended. There was a weird tingling in his body when that time was about to come, so he could feel the exact moment he was changing back. It was not a problem to excuse himself and get another candy…but that was just because he was really lucky.

They spent basically all their time together,living together, working together, exploring the forest together, helping the village, and Yuuri was loving every moment of it.

Yuuri had to admit that, in the beginning, some new traits of Wolfram's personality were shocking. Wolfram, little by little, became really overprotective with him. It came almost naturally, but Yuuri didn't realize it at first. But then, one day when they were in the forest, Yuuri felt himself being bitten on his calf. Damien had recognized the snake and said that Yuuri would be ok, but Wolfram still healed him and even decided that they should go back to the village to have him checked, because he was not sure he did a good enough job.

Or, another time, when Yuuri, after spending too much time with Damien's brothers, who now considered him as another big brother, caught the flu from Marie, and Wolfram stayed up all night while he had fever, checking the temperature every hour and healing him little by little.

And then for some reason, if Wolfram wasn't with Yuuri, he wouldn't let him go in the forest, not even with Damien. It happened sometimes, that when Wolfram was busy healing people, they would decide to go to explore it alone, but when they were all set and leaving, they would see Wolfram coming too, saying that he finished early and that he was coming with them.

It was not…overbearing, or forced, and Wolfram made it all seem as if it were normal. When they were at the castle, every chance was good for him to say, "I'm your fiancé, it's only obvious!" Here, he simply didn't say anything. He was there helping Yuuri, looking after Yuuri, and it was so natural that, in the end, Yuuri didn't feel like doing anything if it wasn't with Wolfram.

There were only two things, after almost one month, that Yuuri felt sad for. The first was that Wolfram rarely talked about himself. Yuuri tried more than once to make him talk, but the blond just changed the subject, or if it was night, since they usually talked for a while when they were going to bed, Wolfram would say he was sleepy and cut the conversation short. Yuuri found out that Wolfram never told anyone of the village, not even Damien, where he was from, he just kept all his life to himself. This made Yuuri think he didn't trust anyone to that point, which was a sad discovery.

The second thing Yuuri was feeling sad for was more related to himself than to Wolfram. Although Yuuri felt really happy the day when, after one and a half weeks since he had come there, Wolfram called him by his name instead of 'brat' or 'wimp'. Yuuri realized he would have loved it so much more if, instead of "Chris," Wolfram had said, "Yuuri".

Whatever relationship he was establishing with Wolfram, it was not really with him, but with Chris, and that pained him to no end. Yuuri found himself asking more than once if it was the damn time to tell Wolfram the truth, but he was afraid of losing all of this. How would Wolf react after knowing he had been fooled for all the time?

And then, there was Damien.

After looking at Wolfram and Damien together, Yuuri realized, a bit bitterly, that there was a strong bond between them. But, if on one part Damien's feelings were already obvious to Yuuri, he also saw lots of other evidence, which included the hard stares directed at him; the king couldn't pinpoint Wolfram's feelings on the matter, and it was no use to ask the boy directly, because even if the blond was now more open and talkative, he would still avoid talking about his feelings.

Then, one day, after almost one month's stay, Yuuri saw Wolfram looking sad and worried for the first time while eyeing a particular place in their house. Not that Yuuri hadn't seen Wolfram like that before, but this time there was something different. Yuuri wanted to ask, but he couldn't. So, he resolved to find out by himself.

There was a little wooden box Wolfram kept hidden under the floor. Yuuri found out one day just as a mistake and realized it was locked. He was absolutely sure it had something to do with the blond's sadness, since he kept looking toward that place

So, the following day, he pretended to feel a little sick. Not so sick as to make Wolfram skip work, but enough to say he would come a little late. About half an hour after the blond had left, Yuuri decided he would try to open the box.

To his surprise, the box was already open…maybe Wolfram forgot to lock it? Examining the contents, he saw that inside there were letters, a lot of letters that Yuuri realized where coming from the castle.

He wanted to read them all but he couldn't, so he picked some randomly. The first one Yuuri opened was from Gwendal, dated the month before, and it said:

_I hope that all is well. Conrad has taken over your troops for the time being, but I am uncertain how long he will be able to continue in that capacity. Mother is still travelling, although she returned for some days and was disappointed to find you gone. Also, Anissina is in need of another Guinea Pig._

Well, Gwendal was as always...cryptic. But Yuuri could make out from those lines that he missed his baby brother. He put the letter back and took out another one.

It was from Greta, also dated when Yuuri was still at the Castle.

_Dear papa,_

_How are you? Here we are all doing fine. I know you are surprised to receive my letter, but when I went crying to Anissina because I missed you she told me to beg uncle Gwendal to give me the chance to write to you, and so I am.  
Ne_,_ papa... is it my fault that you left? I know that daddy Yuuri and me didn't spend time with you a lot after uncle Conrad came back, I was just so happy that everybody was together again...I just wanted to spend time with him since he said he had a lot of things to tell. I've never thought of him replacing you papa, it's true! Nobody can ever replace you!_  
_I've heard the maids talking between them and saying that the day you left was the 2nd anniversary of you and daddy, and I remembered you telling us to go to look at the stars together on that day. I didn't know it was so important for you or I would have said _to_ uncle Conrad that the book about dragons would have to wait!  
I'm sorry papa, I'm really sorry._

_Papa, I hope you'll come back soon, daddy Yuuri doesn't say it but I know he misses you a lot too. Please, come back_.

_Love_,  
_Your daughter Greta_

Yuuri's stomach was so clenched, it was painful...he remembered the last conversation he had with Wolfram so well, and now it was as if a big part of the puzzle he had been missing was finally there.

But it wasn't his fault! First of all, the engagement was a mistake; and second, how was he supposed to know it was that kind of anniversary if time passed differently on Earth? Moreover, Wolfram didn't mention anything like that either!

But even though Yuuri knew it was not his fault, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. He had reacted in such a careless way when Wolfram had told him about the promise...just remembering it felt like a knife cutting his stomach.

He put that letter back, too, and examined the dates on the rest of the envelopes and the people who sent them. There were two from Gisela, two from Gunter, two from Gwendal, one from Anissina, one from Cheri and two from Greta.

There were no letters from Conrad. Another peculiar thing was that the letters were all from the time while Yuuri was still at the castle. He found only one letter that was dated after Yuuri left the castle. This particular letter was really recent, not even 3 days old.

He opened it.

_Wolfram_,

_His Majesty somehow discovered that you were not at your family's home, and became somewhat agitated. He expressed a desire to search the country for you, but we would not allow it.  
The Great Sage informed us that his Majesty left for Earth that night, as he was quite concerned. It has been nearly a month since then, and his Majesty has yet to return. There are no pressing concerns about his absence at this time, and all else is well; however, I assumed that you would want to be informed of this development._

_Gwendal._

So, that was why Wolfram looked so sad during these last few days? Because he found out that Yuuri was upset and had left?

Yuuri put everything back and went to lie on the bed. He needed to think for a moment. But apparently he wasn't able to, because as soon as he closed his eyes he felt the door open. Wolfram came inside, but was so lost in his thoughts that Yuuri doubted he sensed his presence. Then, as if coming back to reality, Wolfram's emerald eyes looked at Yuuri.

"Hey, how're you doing?" Wolfram asked, checking Yuuri's forehead with his hand.

"Ah, better, I was going to come now. We're almost finished rebuilding that house, so if we hold on a little bit more the work will be over soon, ne?" Yuuri replied with a smile.

"You're not helping there today," said Wolfram. "You're going to tell stories again since you felt a little sick."

"But Wolf, I can help too, it's ok..." Yuuri said again.

"I said, you're going to tell fairytales to the children and you are doing that, got it?" This time, the blond was shouting. Wolfram realized immediately that his reaction was too strong. His eyes looked pained for a moment, and then he went to sit, putting his elbows on the table and keeping up his forehead with his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said, and then paused. "I'm not feeling well either, apparently."

Yuuri got up and went near him, putting a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"What's up Wolf?" he tentatively asked. "You're weird lately…"

"Nothing important Chris, it will pass soon I'm sure," the blond replied, as usual.

_It's nothing important? I'm not...important? Of course, how could I be important to you_,_ considering how blind I was to all the things you considered dear. Wolf, I'm sorry..._

Yuuri realized just in time that his arms were moving automatically, in order to hug the blond, so he managed to get in control of his body just before the contact. He took a deep breath.

_Calm, I need to stay calm_.

"Ne, what about you rest today and relax, while I go there saying that you're not feeling well and then help for a while?" he offered. "Then, we can take a walk somewhere. I can cover you for just one day, I'm sure!"

Wolfram smiled thankfully. It was something that happened rarely. Usually, he didn't like any of Yuuri's suggestions.

"Thanks, for this time I think I'll let you do what you want," he said, smiling. "Don't overdo it though... ok?"

Yuuri felt relieved. "Of course, and...you should always follow my suggestions, because they are the best!" Yuuri exclaimed in a satisfied way.

"Don't push your luck." Wolfram patted his head and added, "Wimp!"

Yuuri couldn't exactly describe in what way they were looking at each other, but he just felt as if he could stare at the blond prince all day. It was Wolfram who moved first, and went to lie on the bed. He closed his eyes, a relaxed expression now on his face.

"See you later!" Yuuri said before closing the door.

Leaving Wolfram there, Yuuri felt happy. He wanted to go to help the others and hoped to be fast so he could come back as soon as possible. It was like another barrier was broken; another little step of his "knowing Wolfram" project was done.

When Yuuri arrived where the others were still working, he saw Damien helping out, but when their eyes met, Damian stopped and approached him.

"Where is Wolfram?" he asked, smiling.

"I left him at home, he was not in the mood to help," Yuuri replied, a little defensively.

"I see..." Then Damien turned around, but before walking away, he said, "Chris, do you still remember what I told you the first night you arrived here?"

"I do." Yuuri answered, without any fear.

"My warning is still valid." Damien didn't add more, but rather went to help the others.

_Again with that? I swear_,_ one of these days I'll go there and tell him to mind his own damn business! There is no way I'll stay away from Wolfram because he doesn't want that! If Damien_ _wants to misunderstand our relationship_,_ he's free to do it_;_ I don't care!_

For all the remaining hours, Yuuri tried to avoid Damien. He couldn't deal with him, he was afraid to lose his temper and tell him the truth about his real identity and Wolfram's. But Yuuri couldn't, neither about Wolfram nor about himself. At least not before he had told Wolf the truth.

Sometimes it was so hard, though... There were days when he felt jealous looking at Damien and Wolfram, and often he asked himself why in all the time he knew Wolfram, they didn't manage to have that kind of relationship.

Yeah, he was jealous, because he wanted to have Wolfram as a friend in this way from the beginning, too.

But then, were Damien and Wolfram only friends? Yuuri never asked Wolfram and only based his opinions on what he saw, or what he wanted to see. In any case, that question he was never able to voice kept ringing in his mind all the time.

During the whole month, Wolfram never spoke about his past, nor about the Maou or his family. Were they really so...unimportant that they didn't deserve to be named even once? Did Yuuri mean nothing in Wolfram's life? The simple thought made Yuuri's stomach close even more than before. But then, Wolfram looked sad and worried, and the reason was probably the letter from Gwendal.

That gave Yuuri a little bit of hope. Anyway, he solved to tell Wolfram everything as soon as possible, maybe even on that same day! Even though he cherished the time they spent together, Yuuri felt really bad for lying to him, and he hoped for them to get the same relationship Wolfram had with "Chris" or with Damien, but he wanted to be Yuuri, to be himself, to talk with Wolfram about them.

There were so many things he longed to tell Wolfram, but, as Yuuri. There were so many adventures and experiences he wanted for them to get through, but as Yuuri and Wolfram, not as Wolfram and Chris AND Damien.

He didn't know if it was selfish on his part, maybe it was, but Yuuri felt he needed to have time to spend with Wolfram alone, without other people around, just the two of them. But first he had to tell him the truth, then ask for forgiveness and settle things with him.

The work for that day was almost over, so he resolved to leave the rest to the others and go home to finally talk to Wolfram, but while he was already walking away he felt someone calling him.

"Chriiiiis!" a female voice called.

Yuuri turned around and spotted Marie running to him. She came up to him and hugged him around the legs. "Are you already leaving?" she asked, a little sad. "I hoped you could tell us a story."

He felt bad for leaving her there, she reminded him so much of Greta…Yuuri could see why Wolfram was so fond of this little girl.

"Yes, dear, I'm sorry. There is something I have to say to Wolfram, but I'll tell you a story tomorrow, ok?"

The girl smiled, nodding.

"What is that you have to say to Wolf, Chris? Of course, if you don't mind my asking," a certain familiar voice asked.

Yuuri tried to answer calmly and nicely. "Nothing important Damien, I just need to talk to him..."

Then, Yuuri patted the girl's head and left. If he felt a little unsure before, Damien with that single question gave him 100 more reasons to talk to Wolfram.

When he reached the house, he saw the light on, and, opening the door, Yuuri saw Wolfram sitting at the table with a cup of soup in front of him.

"I'm back," Yuuri said, smiling.

The blond acknowledged him with only a little nod of his head, and kept staring at his soup. Yuuri took off his first shirt and then went to get a cup for himself.

All the resolution he felt before was disappearing, and he noticed his hands were trembling. Sitting on the chair and putting the cup on the table, he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Wolf, there is something I need to tell you," Yuuri started, looking at the blond.

Wolfram made no sign that he heard him, but slowly his eyes raised to look toward Yuuri. "What is it?" Wolfram asked, not really interested.

"Oh, well, I…I am..."

But his sentence was cut off when they heard a knock on the door. "Can I come in?" a voice asked.

"Sure, Damien, it's open," Wolfram replied, with the same tone he used when he had answered Yuuri.

Damien looked as if he literally ran from his house to theirs. He was breathing hard, his eyes full of emotions. "Wolfram, I need to talk to you..." Then, looking at Yuuri, he added, "in private."

Wolfram looked a little surprised, but he just stood up and left, not before sending a little reassuring smile to Yuuri and telling him, "We'll talk later, ok?"

Then they left. Yuuri's heart was in turmoil.

_What does he want? Why now_,_ when I was going to tell him everything?_

Yuuri wasted no time and left the house, he wanted to call Wolfram back and talk to him.

_I was talking first, why just because Damien came and said_,_ "I need to talk to you_,_" Wolfram went away? I was talking to him!_

Yuuri spotted the two figures from a a short distance away, and again his courage left him. He wanted to talk to Wolfram, sure, but his curiosity got the best out of him and so, after some moments in which he was unsure of what to do, Yuuri decided to hide for a while. Maybe he would be able to finally find out what kind of relationship Damien and Wolfram had.

When Yuuri was near enough, he stopped and remained still. He could also see their faces from there, and realized they still didn't say anything; Damien was concentrating, as if he was trying to control his feelings before talking, while Wolfram was looking at him with a little curiosity.

_Oh shit, don't tell me he's going to confess!_

But the words that came out from the young man's mouth left Yuuri shocked.

"Wolf, I want Chris to leave the village!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I guess things might get more interesting now, don't you think so?

Chapter six is half done, I'm waiting to see the comments to this one before finishing it because I might change my ideas reading your opinions about what should happen after. Not to mention, I need to know if you're still finding the fic interesting, that's why it depends on the reviews if I'll update soon or not.  
I have a well formed plot in my mind, even if the ending is still undecided, but I wanted to hear also the opinions of the readers; not to mention that getting reviews makes me write faster, this is for sure. Plus, I wanted to know if you liked this Wolfram and this Yuuri after all. Wolfram especially might be something new for people who didn't read the novels.

Thank you to all of you, and I'm sorry, I didn't even see that there were so many reviews for the other chapter, notification service is giving problem I guess.I'll post links to translations of dramas and bonus novels on my profile asap. Let me know what you think of them ok?  
Of course, if I get a lot of comments, I'll definitely write faster.


	7. Chapter 6

I apologize, I said I would update soon instead it took more time  
If people checked my profile I explained what happened, I'm so sorry! Thank you for the incredible feed back, it helped me a lot in writing faster! For the ones that didn't check it, I updated my profile with some links, I hope you'll like them and added also a picture of Wolfram's slap to Yuuri, that was taken from the novels.  
For the questions left in the review, novels are not manga, they have like..3 or 4 pictures and then the rest is text.

Ok now here we go with the chapter, I hope you'll like it!

Usual disclaimers apply

This chapter is still from Yuuri's POV, thoughts are in italics.

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The wind's voice was nothing more than a whisper passing through the trees; the same trees from that, the first night Yuuri met Wolfram again, had scared him with their noises. But now he couldn't care less. All that mattered were Damien's words, those few words that managed to shock him so much. Yuuri didn't expect the man to hate him so much and couldn't find any good reason for that.

Damien told Wolfram that he wanted for Yuuri to leave?

It was unbelievable, but apparently Yuuri was not the only one that was shocked. Yuuri saw Wolfram's emerald eyes go wide at Damien's statement and even though a part of him wanted to run away, he needed to know what Wolfram was going to say.

If Wolfram agreed, then what about him?

"Damien, what the hell are you talking about?" the blond asked, surprised.

"Exactly what I said, I want him to leave! I...I don't trust him," Damien replied, looking more serious than ever.

Now, this was new. Yuuri tried to remember if he'd done something wrong. Maybe...maybe Damien found out that he was hiding something? Maybe Damien saw him take the candies? If that's the case, why didn't he say anything earlier?

So many questions were running through Yuuri's mind...

"What do you mean, you don't trust him?" Wolfram tried again. He obviously wasn't convinced, even though Yuuri could see that Damien's last words caught his interest.

"You don't understand? Don't you think it's weird, how he suddenly shows up here and decides to stop right in this forest? And the way he looks at you..." Damien seemed so involved in what he was saying, that it scared Yuuri.

"You're joking, right? He's really innocuous, a wimp, why would you doubt him?" Wolfram was trying hard to take seriously what Damien was saying, but Yuuri could see that he didn't believe him. Or maybe Wolfram didn't want to believe him?

Yuuri, or to be precise, Chris and Wolfram had established a nice relationship during this time. They were friends, maybe not in the way that Yuuri wanted, which gave Yuuri a partially inexplicable feeling of hurt, but they were good friends. What if someone would come to you telling you that they wanted your friend to leave?

"I don't like the way he looks at you! I don't like the way he acts with you, and honestly, I couldn't even understand why you were okay with him sharing your house and your bed!" Damien was trying hard not to scream.

Now Yuuri understood: jealousy, that's what was moving Damien. Although, after hearing the words 'sharing your bed' Yuuri blushed.

"Damien, seriously, I don't know what you're talking about," Wolfram seemed to completely miss the implications of his friend's words.

How come Wolfram is so oblivious? Yuuri thought to himself, when they were at the castle...

_When we were at the castle Wolf didn't even try once to jump on me, he never tried anything funny, it was always me who made up problems_…_he really never did anything..._

Wolfram had always respected him. And apart from wanting to sleep in the same bed and maybe being too loud in voicing his displeasure when he thought Yuuri was 'cheating on him,' the blond never even once tried to do anything more...physical, or that could be seen in a romantic way. He didn't even touch Yuuri. In fact, he had touched Chris more times during this month, with his pats on the shoulders, than he had touched Yuuri for all the time they had known each other.

Yuuri realized he had gotten lost in his own thoughts and tried to pay attention to the conversation again, but he could only hear the wind's voice now. Looking at the scene, he saw that Damien was silent, as if he was thinking about something.

"I don't like seeing you two together," Damien said, looking directly at Wolfram. "I don't like the way you two seem so familiar, I don't like the way you are overprotective with him..." He added, "Yeah, I noticed that, are you surprised?"

Wolfram's eyes were a little wider than before, but he didn't answer.

"He is in love with you, I can see it. I'm sure he was going to confess tonight..." he paused briefly uncertain whether to continue, "and you feel something for him, don't you?"

_What a stupid idea! _Yuuri thought._ I'm not in love with Wolfram, not at all! For God's sake, we are two boys, it's not possible! Why is Damien continuing with this story? Can't he see I'm not interested in that way?_

Wolfram's eyes were back to normal, his face serious. Yuuri saw him take a deep breath before answering.

"You're completely wrong. I'm not in love with him and I highly doubt he's in love with me."

See? Even Wolfram denied it...but then, why did that knot in Yuuri's stomach remain?

"But the way you two act..." Damien tried again.

"He...he reminds me of someone, that's why I took care of him, but I'm not in love with Chris," Wolfram said calmly.

How long would it take for Damien to understand that they didn't have that kind of relationship? It was clear like the blue sky, Wolfram said it too... Now, Yuuri only wondered why, hearing the blond's words, he felt a little disappointed.

"If you're done and we have settled this, I'm going now," Wolfram continued, but a hand stopped him.

"Wolf, I'm not finished," Damien seemed calm again. "I still don't want you two to be so close."

"You have no right to tell me what to do, Damien!" Wolfram got angry at the request.

The old Wolfram was back at full force with his fiery personality. Listening to the blond raise his voice, brought back many memories to Yuuri and even though the situation was far from being a happy one, he had a small smile on his face. Turning his back to the two and leaning on a tree, Yuuri closed his eyes to listen to that familiar tone better.

_Oh yes, that old tone Wolfram used when he was angry..._

"But I care for you! I…I would do anything for you. I'm in love with you, how is it possible that you didn't realize it? I'm jealous of him!" Damien said all that on one breath and Yuuri's eyes opened suddenly and turned back to watch the scene.

_So that's it, he really wanted to confess! I knew it, I knew it!_

Wolfram's eyes were shocked, but then Yuuri saw the blond looking at the ground with a serious face.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear anything," he said, almost coldly.

"Why? Wolf, I..." Damien tried hopefully, before being interrupted by the blond's stare.

"You don't know anything about me, how can you claim to love me? I came here not even two months ago... I can't take this nonsense seriously," he paused and then continued, "but even if it was true, I'm sorry, I don't feel the same."

Damien's hand, which had been resting on Wolfram's shoulder, dropped down to his side.

The young man turned around, his face pained.

Yuuri felt as if he was watching some drama, or a romantic movie. At this point, usually one of the two would act on an impulse, hug and kiss. Then the other that wouldn't answer at the beginning, but would eventually kiss back...

_Stop stop stop! Wolfram would never do that, never, never and in any case, I don't want to see that, stupid brain of mine, why do you work in this way?_

"Is there someone else?" Damien tentatively asked.

"Would it make any difference?" Wolfram answered, without showing in his voice any feeling at all. But he was looking at Damien intently, as to show him that there were no doubts in what he was saying.

Damien didn't answer him immediately.

"I...I don't know, I guess I'll have to ponder on this a little on my own...I feel so stupid," he said, walking away from Wolfram and heading back towards the village.

The blond looked at the retreating shape with a hint of sadness in his eyes and maybe, also regret?

Yuuri remained hidden between the bushes for the whole time, not knowing what to do.

His mind was full of thoughts, trying to process everything he had heard. Wolfram didn't feel the same way, Wolfram didn't love Damien, and then, then he didn't answer when Damien asked him if he was in love with someone else.

Could it be that Wolfram was in love with someone else? But who?

Yuuri's trail of thoughts was interrupted when he felt a hand on his head. Looking up, he saw the green eyes of Wolfram. The blond had a serious face.

"Did you find the conversation interesting?" he asked, but his voice was flat.

Feeling trapped, Yuuri didn't know how to answer. He just stayed there, silent, looking at Wolfram with wide eyes. Then, realizing that he was completely discovered he looked at his feet, with a little blush of embarrassment on his face.

He didn't want Wolfram to think badly of him, but there was no excuse for what he did. "I'm sorry!" Yuuri whispered. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I..."

He heard Wolfram sit down next to him, feeling reassured that the blond didn't seem too mad.

"Don't worry, its ok," Wolfram's tone was a little softer now.

This shocked Yuuri a lot; how come Wolfram was okay with what he did? He wanted to apologize again, to justify himself. But when Yuuri turned around to look at the blond near him, he couldn't find his voice.

Wolfram had a really sad expression on his face, his eyes were so distant that Yuuri doubted anything he would say could reach him.

He felt bad. Was Wolfram really regretting his answer to Damien?

Did he reject him for some reason but was actually in love with him?

What would he do in this case? And why would it matter so much to him if Wolfram was in love with Damien?

"Chris, do you think I was too hard on him?" That must have been the first time Wolfram asked him something that was related to himself.

"I don't know..." Yuuri answered earnestly. He felt bad that he couldn't help his friend, when Wolfram had always tried to cheer him up the times he felt down. But at the same time, there was a question that he wanted to ask the blond but didn't dare to.

"I think it's better to state things clearly...from the beginning," Wolfram said. "The more you wait, the more it hurts in the end," he added, and Yuuri could hear a little distress in his voice.

"Why did you reject him? Don't you like him?" There, Yuuri said it, the question he wanted an answer to but almost didn't dare to ask.

He saw the blond still keeping the same sad expression, but there was a hint of a flame in those eyes now.

Wolfram was probably debating on whether he should answer or not, Yuuri thought to himself. He knew the blond wasn't open about his feelings, but he didn't want to back out. He needed an answer, even if he didn't know why it was so important to him.

"I like him, just...not the way he wants to be liked," then a little smile formed on Wolfram's lips. "When I first met him, he reminded me of my brother..."

_Is he talking about Conrad?_

Yuuri had to admit he had noticed some resemblance between Conrad and Damien too. Could this be the reason why Wolfram felt so at ease with the young human man? But then, Wolfram talking about Conrad was a rare thing... He really wanted to know more at this point.

"My brother has his same attitude on a lot of things," but then Yuuri saw the smile disappear. "But Damien took me seriously, while my brother rarely did. I was always the cute young little brother," he stopped, "I doubt he took my feelings seriously in certain situations too."

Was it bitterness Yuuri could hear in those words? What feelings was he talking about?

"Do you think you ruined the relationship with Damien?" Yuuri asked, trying to better understand what was happening in Wolfram's heart.

"I don't know, Chris, but trust me: between finding out early on that you don't have any chance, and finding it out after a while, the first option is definitely the best one. It hurts less," he answered sadly, looking at the sky.

"If you keep leading them on, if you look unsure or just decide to let it be, the other one would think there is hope after all," Wolfram turned around looking at Yuuri. "Can you imagine how much more it would hurt when they discovered the truth?"

Yuuri was at loss for words. It was the first time he and Wolfram talked about relationships, and while the blond was speaking, he could feel his heart tighten.

_How come you know all of this Wolfram? You are so handsome, you could have anyone, why do you talk as if you knew exactly what it means? Is there something in your past that you never told me?_

"You talk as if you know how it feels, Wolf," Yuuri tentatively tried, seeking an answer to his thoughts.

And in a matter of seconds, the air around them completely changed, and that dreamlike moment where Wolfram was opening up to Yuuri just disappeared like the wind that finally stopped.

"How could I know? I'm just supposing Chris, but it doesn't take a genius to understand what the best option is," the blond said, standing up.

Then he offered his hand to Yuuri. "Come on, you've been there for a while, I bet you're cold now," he said smiling.

When Yuuri took it, he realized that the grasp and the push were not as strong as usual, actually. Plus, Wolfram's face was a little paler than normal.

"Wolf, are you ok?" he asked worried.

"Sure, I've only been eating less lately, which made me a little weaker," he assured.

Together, in silence, they went back home.

Yuuri couldn't pinpoint what Wolfram was feeling. He himself felt funny, happy on one part, and strangely sad on another. His stomach was in knots and his mind was fogged by so many thoughts, he doubted he could form a proper sentence.

It was late, probably around ten in the evening. It was time for people in the village to sleep, because another day would bring more work and they needed to wake up early.

Stripping silently, Yuuri noticed that Wolfram's face seemed a little more relaxed than before.

In the meantime, Damien's words about sharing the bed were again ringing in his mind.

During the previous month, after the first night that was a little awkward, having the blond sharing the bed with him became routine. It wasn't a surprise anymore finding himself spending at least half an hour before falling asleep just staring at Wolfram's sleeping form, or seeking his warmth, getting near his body just right before falling asleep. It was after all, like going back in time, when they used to sleep in the same bed at the castle.

But all those words Damien said that night made him feel weird. He didn't want to think about that, Wolfram was his friend and he was used to him, that it was only natural to do what he did...wasn't it? They'd been sleeping together for so long he couldn't even remember the first time.

And this trail of thoughts brought him to the original problem. He needed to tell Wolfram the truth about himself soon, because the more he was delaying the more the blond would be upset at him. Yuuri was sure of that, so when they were already in bed and Wolfram was about to turn off the candle on the table, he resolved to speak.

"Wolfram..." he started, "there is still something I wanted to tell you."

He saw the blond looking at him with a curious expression now.

"Oh yeah, what was that Chris?" he asked.

"Okay well, I know that maybe you will be angry at me, after I tell you..." hearing these words peeked Wolfram's interest. Yuuri could see it from the glint in his eyes, but he just gulped and continued.

"But..."

_knock knock_

Someone was at the door.

_On no, I can't believe this, it's the second time it happened, just why? I swear it's impossible!_

Yuuri's frustration was reaching points never reached before.

Wolfram got up and opened the door to reveal Damien again.

_Oh yeah, whatever, I can't believe he's still here_,_ wasn't he supposed to go sulk somewhere?_

Yuuri had to admit his thoughts were very unfriendly, but he couldn't help it.

He was always being interrupted, was there some kind of universal plan that was preventing him from telling Wolfram the truth?

"I'm sorry to bother you guys, but I just found this injured bird, and it seems that he has a letter for you, Wolfram," he said in an apologetic tone, a little embarrassed in talking to Wolfram. Probably because he was rejected, since he was trying not to look at the blond in the eyes.

At the mention of a bird and a letter Wolfram's eyes grew wide again and took the little bird in his hands.

Putting it on the table, he first healed the apparently broken wing, and then took out the letter.

Both Yuuri and Damien looked at him with a curious face. Yuuri, of course, knew where the letter was from, and was waiting with a certain anticipation and worry. It wasn't good to get a letter this late, that meant it was urgent and usually brought bad news.

He saw Wolfram become even paler than before and took Damien by his shoulders and said, "Damien, open the stable, I need my horse, NOW!"

The words were not a request; those were the orders of a captain. His eyes were so full of feelings and worry that Yuuri panicked too, fearing that something bad had happened at the castle.

Maybe Greta was sick? Wolfram's face seemed so scared...

"Wolfram, what are you talking about? It's late; you know it's dangerous to go in the forest now, why do you want to go?" Damien asked, a little shocked by the blond's request.

"You don't understand, I have to go!" Wolfram answered, screaming. "If you won't help me, I'll do it myself."

There was only one stable and it kept all the horses of the villagers. It was closed during the night to prevent wild beasts from attacking the horses. Yuuri saw Wolfram running there and Damien following him, his mind was in turmoil.

What was happening?

Looking around in panic, Yuuri realized that the letter, which Wolfram had put in his pocket, fell from it since the blond was in a hurry, and without thinking too much he took it.

With trembling hands, he opened it and his eyes went wide.

It was a letter sent on that same night, from Gwendal.

_Wolfram,_

_The Great Sage has only just informed us that His Majesty never went back to Earth, as we had previously been told. On the same evening that we refused to allow His Majesty to leave to search for you, he fled the castle in secret and we have heard nothing since then. The Great Sage told His Majesty of your whereabouts, so we suspect that he might be somewhere on the mountain._

_I'm sure you can understand that the castle is in an uproar with worry; His Majesty has been missing nearly a month, and if he has not found you, then we have no idea as to whether he is safe. His Majesty lacks the skills necessary to protect himself, and if he has not been recognized, we fear that some ill will may have befallen him._

_We are preparing to send out all available troops to search, and they will be arriving as soon as possible; however, due to the logistics of preparing and moving the army, it will take some time. Our best estimate is that the troops will be there in a week's time._

_In the meantime, it is your duty to search for His Majesty. Send word when you find him – whether he is still alive or not._

_Gwendal_

Just in that moment, after reading those words, he realized the big mistake he had made; and he also wanted to strangle Murata: why, just why did he have to say anything?

The noise from outside was growing louder; he could hear Wolfram and Damien fighting.

He ran outside and it took him less than three minutes to get to the stable where Wolfram was taking his horse.

Damien was beyond angry. "Wolfram, what the hell happened? Stop it!" he even tried to stop the blond with his arms, but Wolfram seemed to have regained all his previous strength and pushed Damien away.

"You don't understand, I have to go, I have to look for him!" he answered, and without further explanation he got on the horse.

"Him? Who? Wolfram, I don't recognize you, what's happened? Who is him? Is he the person you love? Wolfram, answer me!" Damien was screaming and putting himself in front of Wolfram's horse as if he wanted to stop it.

Yuuri decided that it was now or never.

"Wolfram, stop please, get off the horse! I have to tell y.."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me when I come back Chris, I'm in a hurry now," and without even waiting for another word he left, fast like the wind, not listening to Yuuri nor to Damien, basically ignoring anyone.

He just disappeared into the forest.

_No, I can't believe it, he left, he left without listening to me, he went looking for me...but I'm here, Wolfram, I've always been here!_

"Wolfram! Please, wait, wait!" he screamed, trying to run after the horse, but two strong arms stopped him, and he was left looking at Damien's stern face.

"You're not going anywhere, boy," the young man's cold voice froze him.

"Let me go, Damien! I have to talk to him!" Yuuri tried to get free, but those arms felt as if they were made of iron.

"Wolfram would never forgive me if I let you go into the forest alone. You're staying here, and if I have to tie you up I will, though I hope you won't make me do it," he warned, and then looked at the forest.

"He will be back, I'm sure he'll be back by the morning..." Yuuri could almost believe in those words.

But sadly, Damien's prediction was wrong, and the following morning there was still no trace of Wolfram.

Yuuri wanted go to the forest and tried to leave more than once, but Damien always found a way to check on him and tried to stick with him. It was evident that he, too, was worried, but he managed to tell Yuuri always, that everything would end up okay and that Wolfram would come back soon. Even though Yuuri wanted to go look for the blond he knew perfectly that the forest was not a pleasant place for someone so inexperienced as him and chances were that he wouldn't be able to make it very far before Damien would find him and bring him back to the village.

The only thing Yuuri could do was believe in those words Damien kept telling him, and be hopeful that, when Wolfram came back, he wouldn't be so angry at Yuuri for lying to him during all this time.

Little did Yuuri know that three days later, he would find himself praying and begging for Wolfram to be angry at him, or for that matter, simply hoping for those emerald eyes to look at him again.

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And here we stop!  
How was that? Did you like it? I sure do hope you'll tell me what you think, also because I need to know if you're liking the direction the fanfic is taking.  
I know that for a lot of you, Yuuri in this fanfic is too slow and it's frustrating to read him but, Yuuri is a japanese young boy who doesn't accept maleXmale relationships and thinks he is straight, so...the process needs to be slow in order to be plausible ne?We'll get eventually there...maybe.  
Thing is, I'm trying to stick with the original Yuuri who is a person that says things without actually understanding how important those things are to other people's ears.

Feed back is loved, and the more I get the more I 'll write faster.

Chapter 7 is half done, I hope someone is still interested in this fic, let me know ok? So I know if I can continue it or not.

Much love to all of you!


	8. Chapter 7

Hello everyone!

I deeply apologize for this delay. The chapter was ready at the beginning of the month but since one of my beta is still moving and settling and with no internet I had to wait more than I expected. For the rest, I thank every reader who left a review here, I seriously, deeply appreciated it!

Now there is a **WARNING** before you start reading.  
This chapter contains **spoilers about the end of the latest Kyou Kara Maou Novel **plus some memories of scenes that happened ONLY in the novels. So please be aware while you read it, that everything Yuuri will talk about in this chapter happened really in the novels, I'm not inventing anything.  
So I repeat, all Yuuri's memories are true, nothing is invented for the fanfic as for the ending of the novel, I'll point it to you.

From next chapter we'll switch to Wolfram's POV, probably not for much but I thought you wanted to know it. This chapter is still all in Yuuri's POV.

I tried to keep him IC as much as possible, my beta said I succeded in doing it...I hopw you'll like it too.

Usual disclaimers apply.

Here we go!

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It was a gloomy day. The sky was grey, and the scent of rain was all around.

Yuuri was doing nothing; over the past two days, he just sat there, looking at the forest, hoping to see that familiar blond head coming out from the darkness of the trees. Not even Marie, who both Yuuri and Wolfram liked so much, had been able to cheer him up.

Yuuri's heart was heavy. He couldn't tear his eyes from the same place where, only few days ago, he saw Wolfram leaving in a desperate search to look for Yuuri, not knowing that he had always been there, at his side.

It was all his fault, and Yuuri knew it. He wanted to fix things; he wanted to talk to Wolfram and beg him for forgiveness.

It started to rain and Yuuri stood up, resolved to go to the others and help, hoping to forget for at least one hour or two that his conscience was screaming at him. As he started to move, he heard the noise of a horse and suddenly turned.

There, in the exact same place he last saw it, stood Wolfram's horse, and its owner.

Not caring at all about the rain, Yuuri ran as if he had ten feet, approaching the horse with a smile in his eyes. He got there just in time to see Wolfram, who was covered in dirt, smile at him weakly before falling from the horse.

Yuuri acted fast enough to keep the blond from falling to the ground, but when he found Wolfram on him, he realized that his clothes were wet.

And it was not rain.

Yuuri panicked. Wolfram was breathing hard, and blood seemed to be coming out of his shoulder and part of his chest.

"Wolf…what?" asked Yuuri, trying to support him and at the same time trying not to hurt him.

"A wild beast...I couldn't see it..." Wolfram panted, finding it hard to get the words out. "It came out and attacked me..."

Wolfram's face was pale and he looked so weak, the only thing Yuuri could do was panic. "Someone, please! Help me! Please!" He felt his eyes burn from tears that were threatening to fall.

"Don't…worry...it'll be...ok.." Those were the last words Wolfram said before falling unconscious.

Yuuri couldn't believe it. His mind froze and he found himself again in that damned place, the same feeling, the same blood on his clothes. That time too, Wolfram had reassured him before collapsing, saying that it was not his fault. Desperation came into his heart, bringing back the worst memory of all: that fateful day when he stabbed Wolfram(°), and even though he was blind at that time and couldn't see the damage he made, the chilling feeling in his heart came back in full force.

In the end, in one way or another, it was always Wolfram the one who got hurt. The first time it was to protect him; the second time it was by him, and this time it was because Wolfram was looking for him.

Then, Yuuri screamed. He screamed as much as he could, hoping to wake up in his bed at the castle with Wolfram snoring beside him and realize that it was all a dream. He screamed for someone to heal Wolfram, because his maryoku wasn't working again, and he wasn't sure that he could stay sane this time. He screamed for someone to some and save them, both of them.

People came running from the village. Damien came, too, his face was a mask of shock at seeing all that blood. Before Yuuri could protest, two men took Wolfram from Yuuri's arms. Slowly, in order not to hurt him, the men moved Wolfram into his house. The doctor came quickly and examined the wound for a long time, trying to stop the blood and bandaging it as much as he could.

Yuuri was sitting there, looking at nothing, his body not able to stop trembling. He only looked up when the doctor coughed a little. The man's face was dark.

"The wound is quite deep, and at least half a day old." He paused and then continued, "sadly it's infected. I gave him some medical herbs and I'll bring you something he'll have to drink, to try to fight the infection in his body."

Damien's voice mirrored his face; he was incredibly worried. "Mr. Kreuk, is he going to..." he couldn't finish the sentence, because Yuuri interrupted him.

"Don't ever say that! Don't even think about it! Wolfram is strong and faced a lot of other things before; he is going to survive and…and…" With that said, Yuuri punched the table. He didn't want to cry, not in front of Damien and the doctor; he wanted to be strong...

"He has a fever, as a result of the infection," Mr. Kreuk said. "I can say that, if the fever goes down, it means that the infection is gone and I'm almost sure he will be able to heal," he finished, putting a hand on Yuuri's shoulder.

"Just make sure to give him the herbal drink, it'll help the process." He attempted to smile and then left, followed by Damien who offered to go and get the herbs personally.

When the door closed, Yuuri went to sit on the side of the bed and took Wolfram's hand in his own. Seeing the blond so vulnerable made him feel lost, he had never thought of the possibility of losing Wolfram It was so obvious to him now: Wolfram had always been at his side, comforting him, supporting him, scolding him, encouraging him. Only now was Yuuri able to see how much Wolfram had protected him, all this time, even if he didn't show it openly.

It was weird, in a way. Yuuri wasn't able to see it at the castle because he was too scared…scared of the engagement thing, of giving in too much, afraid of misunderstandings. But when they were traveling or if there was some danger, it was always Wolfram's shoulder he would see in front of him, shielding him. It was Wolfram's hand who saved him, the same hand who slapped him when he lost his mind and offended Murata. It was on that chest, now bandaged, that he had cried on more than once. And now, thinking that he could lose all of that…

It was impossible.

_I'm so stupid, you were right Wolf, I'm the wimpiest of the wimps._

Without realizing it, he started to talk, hoping for Wolfram to listen to him. "I'm sorry Wolf," he said, holding his hand, "you were always there for me, and I got you in this. You always helped me and I never thanked you, not even once. You saved my life…and the only thing I was able to do was to make you leave.

Tears were once again threatening to fall, but Yuuri just ignored them. "Please, come back. Please, do it for Greta who is missing you so much, do it for your family that is waiting for you, and...how can I become a good King if I don't have you scolding me for being a wimp every time I don't know what to do?"

Wolfram moved slightly...and the wet cloth that the doctor put on his head fell. Yuuri took it and put it back on the blond's forehead.

For the first time, he said out loud the thing that he's been thinking from the first day he found him in his bed.(°°) "You really look like an angel when you're sleeping, you know?" he whispered near Wolfram's ear, and was surprised to see the Wolfram's emerald eyes open a little.

"Yu...Yuuri...?"

Yuuri's heart was pounding so fast he was afraid the Wolfram could hear it and, without thinking too much, he answered.

"Wolfram? Wolf? Can you hear me? Can you see me?"

But apparently, the blond was delirious and that was all he said before closing his eyes again.

Regret filled Yuuri's heart once again. It was his fault if his friend was in this state; it was all his fault. In the past, if Yuuri would have done things differently, Wolfram might not have been in this situation. Yuuri had always been nice to everybody but he knew that, when it came to his fiancé, the only thing he did was dismiss him…and then continue on as if nothing had happened. If he had only paid more attention to Wolfram's feelings, none of this would have happened.

During the months Conrad was in Dai Shimaron, he was so worried about his Godfather that he didn't realize how much Wolfram had helped him.

Wherever he went, Wolfram was always by his side. How come he never realized that? Wolfram was always so loud in scolding Yuuri for being a cheater, but never once reminded Yuuri how much he actually did for him.

The only thing Yuuri could do for Wolfram now, was to use his maryoku to heal him. That was another strange thing…no matter how much he tried, this month he wasn't able to use his maryoku and had not transformed into the Maou even once. It was as if his power was gone, but he knew he had to find it again…this time it was for Wolfram's life and he would try as much as he could to heal him.

So, closing his eyes, he concentrated trying to transform all his feelings and desperation into power, and slowly he felt his maryoku coming back. Sadly, after some minutes, he realized that there was not much power and that the more he tried to use it, the more he became weak. His head was spinning and his body was refusing to keep steady, but there was no way he could stop trying to heal Wolfram.

He got on the bed slowly, careful not to disrupt the blond as he lied next to him, keeping contact with his hands as he continued to heal him. Though Yuuri's head was spinning and he felt incredibly weak, it was a small sacrifice compared to what Wolfram had done. Without realizing it, he fell asleep.

When Yuuri woke up, he was feeling so weak he couldn't even turn his head. Instead, his eyes roamed over the blond sleeping next to him, hoping to see any change. Sadly, he was still sleeping and Yuuri sighed soundly.

"He seems to be better, you know," a voice said in a reassuring way.

"Damien..." Yuuri didn't really feel up to talk to him now...he felt nauseous and so weak, his maryoku was still slightly flowing into Wolfram.

"You must love him a lot too..." Damien observed without really being angry.

"You're wrong, I...I don't love him in that way…"Yuuri said, closing his eyes.

"I think you are quite confused Chris. But it's not up to me to judge you or to show you the truth," Damien replied while putting an empty cup on the table.

"But I wanted to ask you something in any case," he continued, and Yuuri knew even without opening his eyes that he was looking at him. "It was not a coincidence to have you here... was it? As much as I would like to trust you, there seems to be something off about you…"

Yuri thought that now it didn't matter anymore who knew the truth first. And frankly, he felt as if he really needed to say out loud what he had been trying to tell Wolfram without success.

"No, I came here looking for Wolfram," he answered calmly.

"How did you know about him? I mean, he didn't know you so I guess you were the one who knew about him in some way..." Damien's voice was not accusatory. They were really in the same boat, both hoping for Wolfram to recover; that might have been why Yuuri felt he could talk openly.

"He knows me very well..." Yuuri paused, trying to find the best way to explain the situation fully, "it's just that this...body is not my real one, I'm disguised at the moment...and…" Yuuri's words came out almost like a whisper, "it was me, I...I was the person he went to look for in the forest..." And then closed his eyes as regret came at him full force one more time.

Opening his eyes, he saw Damien's shocked face looking at their linked hands. "You...you are a mazoku aren't you?"

"I'm half mazoku, yes and...Wolfram and me, we have known each other for the past 2 years...at least in your world it's 2 years," he answered a little shyly, not daring to look at Damien. "I came here to look for him and ask him why he left...and then he got the letter saying that I disappeared and went looking for me in the forest."

"Then why the hell you didn't tell him before he left!" Damien's voice roared so much that even Wolfram, in his deep sleep, flinched.

"I tried!" Yuuri answered, trying to find a little bit of his strength. "But then YOU were always interrupting! I tried twice and you always came and interrupted us!"

"Bullshit! It's been one month, one full month and you never told him the truth, Chris!" And then Damien looked at him with narrowed eyes and said, "or maybe Chris isn't even your real name, am I wrong?"

Yuuri, who was trying to remain conscious because the strength he used to answer Damien took away even more of his energy, looked at Wolfram regretfully.

"No, you're right, my name is not Chris." Then, after briefly pausing, he continued, "but I want to tell Wolfram first, the truth about me...then I'll explain to everyone the real situation." Yuuri felt weak again, and saw Damien getting near the bed and sitting on the other side of it.

"You don't look good Chris...you should lie down again, and stop healing him too." Yuuri looked at him, a little shocked, but saw a light smile on Damien's lips.

Yuuri's face was surprised. "How do you know what..." he didn't finish the question, he just looked at his hand, which was linked with Wolfram's.

Damien smiled. "It's not so hard to understand it after seeing Wolfram healing people for two months, but you're risking too much.." Then, the man looked at the blond's sleeping face. "He is better, his infection seems to be improving, it's been already 2 days..."

"Two days? I was asleep two days?" Yuuri asked, shocked.

"Yes, and I'm really surprised because a normal mazoku would have already died if he spent the last two days healing someone...you must be really powerful or really lucky." The young man's hand came onto Yuuri's and broke the contact between him and Wolfram.

"Eh? What are you doing?" Yuuri asked, disappointed.

"Possessive, are we? Seriously, you want to talk to Wolfram, don't you? If you continue to heal him you might die before he wakes up." Then, Damien brought his hand to the blond's cheek and caressed it. "He is strong, I'm sure he'll be able to recover alone now."

Yuuri looked at that gesture with a slight bitterness. He knew that Damien was a really good guy, but that way he managed to touch Wolfram and show his affection for him always got on Yuuri's nerves.

_But this doesn't mean I'm possessive! It's just that I don't see why he should be caressing his cheek in that way!_

Damien probably noticed his stare because he stopped, embarrassed. "Let me tell you something Chris," he continued, "I don't know Wolfram's past and I don't want to know it until he is ready to talk about it." His eyes, that previously were resting on Wolfram, now were on Yuuri, and the stare became a little harder. "But I know the person I met two months ago and he...he was hurting. If there is something I do well, it is to understand people at first sight, and he was running from something that hurt him a lot. So, honestly speaking, if you are the one he left, I don't know how he could react knowing you've been here for the past month lying to him..."

Yuuri knew that even without Damien saying it out loud. "But I want to try," Yuuri said, "I want to talk about the reason he left; I want for him to come back with me..."

Damien kept his eyes closed with a resigned expression on his face and sighed. "Ok boy, but..."he said, opening his eyes and looking at Yuuri again, "If he doesn't want to come back with you, let him be."

He stood up and went to wash the last empty cup that had been full of medicine. Damien had probably also been there, never leaving, for the last two days.

The wave of uneasinesss in thinking that Wolfram might decide to never come back home with him scared Yuuri a lot. He never thought of the chance for Wolfram to refuse even after their talk. Yuuri wasn't able to continue his thoughts because Damien interrupted them.

"I might have been rejected now, but I want to have my chance, and you..." Now he was looking at Yuuri with a determined face, "you had him for two years, if he doesn't want to come back, leave him here." But Damien was not pleading, it was more of a statement.

"I'm going to try to make him fall in love with me, I know I can do it..."

"I told you already that I don't love him that way!" Yuuri replied, now a little more annoyed, even if he was uncertain about the reason.

"Ok, I know, but you want him back don't you?"

Yuuri couldn't reply, he just looked at the blond, who was soundly sleeping at his side.

"If he doesn't want to come back, leave him be...chances are that the reason he was hurting and that made him decide to leave is still there, in the place where you came from..."

Yuuri couldn't answer that, he didn't know the real reason that Wolfram had left, after all. He knew that it might have been his fault, but what was it exactly? Was it because he forgot that anniversary? But he didn't seem so sad for that... he even broke the engagement!

A wave of dizziness came on Yuuri again, mixed with something else he might have been too weak to identify. Or maybe it was the fact that, exactly in that moment, the blond they were talking about began to move.

Both Yuuri and Damien looked at him with wide eyes, especially when he moaned and they realized it was not the fever but it was him waking up...

"Wolfram!" They both said at the same time.

Emerald eyes opened, slowly trying to focus. "Ouch...where I am?" he asked, trying to sit up.

"Don't move!" said Damien in a little more relieved voice, "you're still badly hurt, you know?"

Wolfram looked around, and then at the two men at his sides. "Eh? Damien, Chris, what am I doing here? What's happened?" he said in a little more awake voice.

"You got attacked by a wild beast and your horse brought you here..." Damien explained. Yuuri couldn't say a word, partly because he couldn't find any words, but for the most part the feeling of relief was so big that he felt overwhelmed.

"Ah...yeah...I was looking for..." Emerald eyes went wide. "I can't stay here, I have to go back and look for him!" Wolfram said, while trying to stand up completely.

Yuuri, at that moment found his voice. "No you don't have to!" he said, almost screaming.

Wolfram gave him a hard stare. "Chris, I don't have time for this, please mind your own business. I have to go, now!"

Wolfram was stubborn as always. It was incredible how Damien was not successful at trying to stop him, although Yuuri thought that he might have been holding back so as not to hurt Wolfram. "I said you don't, what the hell, you are seriously the most selfish prince I know!" he screamed, as loud as he could, paralyzing both the men.

Wolfram turned around, and to say he was shocked was an understatement. He approached the bed again, Yuuri thought it was incredible he was able to reach the door in his condition. However, if he was to tell him the truth he wanted to face him, so he tried to stand up.

"What...did you call me?" the blond asked with a threatening voice.

Giving himself a big push Yuuri finally managed to stand up but in the process the little bottle with candies fell on the floor across the room, ending up beside Wolfram's feet.

As he looked down at the candies, Wolfram's eyes went wide. He tried to get them, but apparently the wound was hurting a lot, so Damien, understanding what he wanted, picked up the bottle and give it to Wolfram, who examined it for about five seconds.

"Where did you find these Chris..." Now his voice was a mixture between scared and shocked.

"...Murata gave them to me..." Yuuri answered weakly.

"How do you know that person?" Emerald eyes were piercing as they looked at Yuuri.

With a strength which Yuuri thought was abnormal for someone who just 2 days before was on his death bed, he felt Wolfram grab his shirt. "Answer me!" he screamed furiously.

Just at that moment, Yuuri realized that the feeling of before was the one he got when the transformation was taking place. Feeling too weak from a couple days of healing Wolfram, he allowed the transformation to happen, giving Wolfram his answer. In front of the most shocked expression he'd ever seen on Wolfram, his real identity came out.

Nobody dared to speak, and seriously it was better this way, Yuuri thought, because he was now feeling very sick and weak; he wouldn't be able to answer. He felt himself falling in a pool of darkness...but he tried to fight it. He wanted to talk to Wolfram; he couldn't fall asleep at that moment!

Sadly his body didn't listen to him. "I'm sorry, Wolf..." he said, while feeling darkness overcome him.

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Continue...now on the AN

(°) This is what happens at the end of the latest novel, we still don't know what will be of Wolfram in the next one, for now the novel ended with Yuuri who became blind and stabbed Wolfram after becoming Maou because he thought he was an enemy and didn't recognize him. Just when Wolfram fell over him, Yuuri recognized him by his scent (how wonderful is that? More than a ff) and Wolfram reassured him that it was not his fault and then collapsed. This is where the latest novel ends. With Yuuri blaming himself for stabbing Wolfram who collapsed in his arms.

(°°) Yuuri thought it more than once in the cd dramas and in the novels, but never actually said it outloud to Wolfram.

So, how was it? Did you like it? Let me know!

The time for the confrontation is getting really near, but there will be a lot more to come. Everytime I received a notification for a review I felt so bad I couldn't update, please keep sending them, everytime I read them I get more ideas and write faster! And if I don't...well, that means it'll take a while before I can update more. I don't have a lot of confidence in myself actually.

For the ones that asked me, this fanfic will have at least other four or five chapters to go. Up to two weeks ago I didn't even know how I was going to end it XDD

Thank you a lot for the support, this is my first fanfiction in english so it's understandable that if I don't get reviews I'll feel as if what I'm writing is not interesting you anymore.

Thank you from the heart, let me know if you liked this chapter ok?


	9. Chapter 8

Hello everyone!

I'm so sorry, I meant to update here long time ago but I had beta problems plus writer's block so it took a while to finish everything. I hope you can forgive me, and I really hope you'll like this chapter even if probably it's next one that will be more interesting. You'll understand what I mean reading the end of this chapter I guess.

I really want to thank with all my heart the readers who left reviews, because when you have a writer block people who show interest in what you write are the best cure.  
I have more to say but I guess I'll write the rest after the chapter.

Usual disclaimer apply, thoughts are in italics.  
This chapter is in Wolfram's POV.

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In a matter of seconds, Wolfram reacted quickly to prevent that figure, who he knew so well, from falling down on to the ground. Even though he was still hurt, his first priority was to prevent Yuuri's body from touching the ground.

Wolfram stared at the sleeping face of his ex-fiance, and he was unaware of the time that passed, but it must have been a while because he heard Damien call him and saw the man pulling Yuuri out from his arms to make him lie on the bed.

Just then, Wolfram realized that due to the sudden movement his wound had reopened. Wolfram was so surprised that he couldn't even feel the pain, nor did he notice his friend's roaming eyes studying his reaction. All that mattered was Yuuri and his well-being.

Yuuri was his King after all. Or at least, that was the logical explanation that Wolfram gave himself.

He tried to prevent Damien from taking Yuuri away, but in the end, weakened and wounded, Wolfram was forced to sit by Yuuri's side, breathing hard, his eyes fixed on a distant place while his mind was trying to sort out what exactly had happened.

Yuuri was there; correction, Yuuri had always been there for the past month. They shared the bed, the meals, the days...Wolfram had admitted more than once to himself that Chris reminded him of Yuuri...but to think he actually WAS Yuuri...

It was simply shocking.

But as Wolfram sat there, catching his breath, the shock slowly left his mind and he wondered whether he had been fooling himself.

The real reason why he accepted Chris in the first place was because he was wimpy exactly like Yuuri. Even if it was painful to admit it, Wolfram had missed his ex-fiance a lot during these months. He tried to pretend that it was not like that, that his mind...and, more importantly, his heart...were far from the Blood Pledge castle and its residents, but he'd never been good at lying.

During the time spent in the village, Wolfram didn't talk about his life with anyone because he had wanted to pretend that he didn't have a past that was so deeply affecting him. He had resolved to lock his old life in a remote part of his mind even though his heart didn't want to listen to any reason and was missing the faces of his past from the first day.

Wolfram had longed to talk to Yuuri again: to know what he was doing, if he was making progress with his horse-riding or in his fighting skills. He had longed to see that carefree smile and those black eyes that haunted his dreams every night, even if he wouldn't remember them in the morning. And sometimes, Wolfram found himself silently hoping to see a black-haired head coming out from the forest. He had imagined himself being shocked, but at the same time staying calm as if it didn't matter.

But to actually think that Yuuri was disguised for all this time and had always been at his side...that thought alarmed him.

Wolfram realized his own selfishness in thinking about how much that discovery shocked him or how much he was affected - he had completely forgotten that Yuuri actually used Anissina's candies. It was not the time to think about his feelings.

The prince turned to Yuuri and put his hand on the boy's chest. Closing his eyes and concentrating, he could feel a weak line of power, and was a little reassured.

"Stupid wimp..." Wolfram said, trying to summon enough of his power to help Yuuri recover his own.

But as soon as Wolfram started, he felt an hand touching his own and preventing him from using his healing power.

As he opened his eyes he met Damien's hard stare.

"What do you think you're doing, Damien!" His voice and his eyes must have been really scary because Damien was a little taken aback while looking at Wolfram, but then Wolfram saw him closing his eyes and taking a breath before starting.

"I won't allow you two to continue this!" Damien said in an annoyed voice. "First he," Damien said, pointing his finger and the sleeping figure, "tried to heal you even though it might kill him, and now you, who have barely recovered from a very bad infection and almost died, want to use that small amount of power you have to help him?"

_Yuuri did what? For me?_ Upon hearing that, Wolfram was genuinely shocked. He knew Yuuri's gentle heart and knew also that probably his king was unaware of the danger he was facing when he tried to heal him. But even considering this, a small part of Wolfram was very relieved to know that Yuuri cared that much about him.

"First of all," Wolfram replied, "I feel better. But even so...I can't help it, he is my King. It's my duty to think about him and put his life before mine," he said, without really looking in Damien's eyes.

"Liar..." Wolfram heard Damien say. "If it's only for that, then why don't you look at me when you speak?" Damien went to sit on the chair and let out an heavy sigh. "I can't believe we had the Maou and his fiance with us all this time without realizing it..." he said, looking briefly at the ceiling for a moment as if thinking before redirecting his gaze back to Wolfram. "You're Wolfram Von Bielefeld, the Maou's fiance. Now everything is clear...no wonder, I mean, your hair and eyes are not common even in the aristocracy..."

"We're not fiances anymore," Wolfram said. "I broke the engagement before leaving..."

Damien looked at him with a somewhat amused expression on his face. "So that's why he came here, he wants you back..."

Wolfram's eyes looked at him directly, his face serious. "You're wrong, he doesn't want me back..." upon seeing the unconvinced expression of his friend Wolfram continued, "at least not in the way you think."

A little laugh broke the tension in the air. "You two talk in the same way, if I wasn't so involved in this I think I would find it very amusing to look at you two, that's for sure!"

This got not only Wolfram's full attention but also caused him to feel bitter. "You don't understand anything! Don't come to me saying these things when you don't know anything about me or about what happened! Don't ever dare to judge something you can't understand!"

Shortly after he finished, Wolfram regretted his words. Even though Damien didn't appear to be hurt by what Wolfram had said, Wolfram knew that it wasn't fair to accuse Damien of not understanding - how could he understand, when Wolfram had been careful to keep everything from him for all this time? Even though they had been together for two months and Wolfram considered Damien to be his friend, he'd never told him anything.

However, if he was really hurt, Damien didn't show it, he just stood up. "If you'll ever want to explain it to me, you can Wolf. I might not be a good adviser, but you can be sure I'll give you an honest opinion because..." He paused, shifting his gaze so that they were no longer making eye contact, and then added, "...I really care about you, and I want you to be happy."

Without giving Wolfram the chance to answer, Damien left, and Wolfram remained alone reflecting on what to do now.

Yuuri would wake up and Wolfram, for starters, would scream at him for taking those pills and for not knowing the danger he had subjected himself to. Wolfram thanked Shinou for finding out everything. He could still remember Conrad's scared face when he was younger and mistook them for simple candies, his brother scared the hell out of him saying that they would drain all the power from him if used by a child or for a long period...

How could Yuuri use something so dangerous? Didn't he understand what he was doing? Given the chance, Wolfram would scream at Yuuri for coming to look for him, for putting himself in danger and disregarding that there was a full country that cherished and needed the Maou as their ruler. Then he'd get angry because Yuuri lied to him, he disguised himself and...the last month...all last month was spent together.

He couldn't even remember everything he did in this month but he was sure that every second was spent with "Chris," so basically Yuuri knew all those little things Wolfram never showed him in the past.

Wolfram understood very well that Yuuri was not comfortable at all with having a male fiance...hence, his pink nightgown, his daily fits of jealousy, his role as the damsel in distress always in need of protection and with a weak stomach...when all he'd always wanted to do was protect Yuuri, and risk his life for it if he had to. Wolfram had stupidly hoped that Yuuri would eventually grow accustomed to having him as fiance, even if it meant for Wolfram to hide the protective part of his personality.

Oh well...they were not engaged anymore in any case...so no harm was done now. But even after all these months, there was a pang in Wolfram's heart every time he thought about Yuuri, and it made him very uncomfortable.

Wolfram was sure that little by little he was forgetting Yuuri, but then after one glimpse of him all his certainties crumbled like a sand castle. That wall between his heart and Yuuri, that he'd been carefully building up in these two months, was broken at the slightest breeze.

He should've known the very moment he read Gwendal's letter, the pain in his heart knowing that Yuuri was outside somewhere, alone and maybe hurt had fogged his mind so much that his heart took over and made his body move automatically.

What would happen to him now? He couldn't go back...he wasn't ready to go back...but he knew Yuuri could be stubborn. It was true that Wolfram couldn't forget; he'd been fooled for a month, but on another part...

_Shut up! I don't want to think anymore!_ Wolfram let out a big sigh and looked at the sleeping figure on the bed. He allowed a small smile to find its way to his lips. Wolfram's hand moved on its own accord and gently caressed that black hair he liked so much.

_Just for one moment, give me just this moment of weakness Shinou, and then I'll be fine for the rest of my life..._

_I missed you so much..._

He didn't know how long that moment was...it might have been hours...but for him it was only few minutes that ended too quickly when galloping horses interrupted the peace. Wolfram understood right away that his brothers and the troops were finally here, he had some explanation to give now and one certain person to kill...

Standing up weakly, he approached to the door and took a deep breath before opening it and leaving his small house. Outside, the sun was still high, it must have been early in the afternoon; he hadn't realized the time passing. His eyes immediately looked at the figure who was coming to him after getting off from the horse.

"Brother Gwendal..." he said with a serious look.

"Wolfram," Gwendal acknowledged with a small nod.

That was probably all they were going to say to each other. No other unnecessary words were exchanged between the two, but Wolfram could recognize from the tone in his brother's voice that he was glad to see him. After him, his eyes fell on the other person approaching, someone he'd been dreading to meet for a while. If there was one person he didn't want to explain his reason for leaving to, that was him.

"Conrad." Wolfram was going to be calm and mature, it was no use in covering himself anymore he didn't have anything to lose now.

"Wolfram, how have you been?" Conrad said his usual warm way.

_Funny, coming from someone who never wrote me anything during this months..._ Wolfram realized that his bandaged chest was clearly visible and that it was that wound that made Conrad ask about his well being.

"It's not as bad as it seems; but right now, we have more important things to talk about."

Wolfram's eyes looked again to Gwendal. "His Majesty is here..."

He could see both his brothers let out a deep relieved breath and then look at each other. Wolfram decided to not wait for any question before he continued.

"He is sleeping at the moment. Apparently," Wolfram said, his eyes shifting to a particular individual who was still sitting on the horse and looking at him with the usual unreadable face, "he took Anissina's candies and disguised himself, he's been here for the past month."

Now both Gwendal and Conrad's faces were scared.

"No need to worry; he is recovering. I have the candies with me and he is going to be fine. His power is weak but he got back to normal and I guess that when he'll wake up he'll be perfectly fine." Wolfram saw his brothers relax after his explanation and continued, "now, if you'll excuse me."

And with that, Wolfram walked without hesitation toward the one person that he very happily wanted to kill. "You..." He said, his voice full of venom.

"Yo, it's great to see you too sir Von Bielefeld!" As usual, Murata Ken, known as the reincarnation of the Great Sage, acted as if nothing happened at all. Wolfram more than once would have wished to know what exactly was happening in that mind of his...

"Why did you let him do something so stupid?" Wolfram asked in a vexed tone. He respected the Great Sage, it was something subtle that not everyone could see but he knew perfectly that there was way more under that appearance of a normal human boy. That was why he unconsciously trusted the Great Sage, but maybe Wolfram would have had to reconsider his opinion.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sir Von Bielefeld," Murata said with an innocent smile.

He had hoped to get Murata to show a little bit of surprise, how could this person keep the facade up for so long? "Don't lie; Yuuri told me you gave him those candies. Did you know they were dangerous?"

The expression on Murata's face changed completely. "No, I didn't know. If I knew I would have found another way..." There was an hint of surprise and regret in those words.

Wolfram felt a little bad suddenly, looking at Murata's pained expression. Although the Sage was hard to read, Wolfram was sure that Murata cared a lot for Yuuri and would not have purposely put him in any danger.

"But this doesn't change the fact that he wanted to get to you at any cost," Murata finished, not knowing what power those simple words said in that determined tone held. Or maybe he knew perfectly...

Wolfram looked at him, surprised. But he wouldn't be fooled again, he was going to damn himself before giving into his weakness of blindly believing what his heart wanted to see. "Despite everything, Yuuri is a wimp, and I can easily understand his reasons. He didn't want to lose a friend and decided to come to talk to me, hoping to solve everything."

Just why did Wolfram feel so sad about saying the truth? "What I can't understand though," he added, glaring at the Great Sage, "is how you could allow him to risk his life over something so stupid?"

The boy smiled, his glasses shining. "Both you and he are very stubborn and," he paused, as if trying to chose his words carefully, "somehow I knew that if I didn't help him he would have done it by himself, and it might have been a problem."

While talking, Murata leaned against a tree and crossed his arms on his chest, keeping his smile. "At least I knew where to direct him and I was sure you would take care of him, even if he was in another form." The last words were spoken in a soft tone.

Wolfram didn't know how to answer back, there was something that told him he would never win one match against this person.

"I didn't know Anissina's candies were dangerous and that was my mistake, I was too careless and I'm thankful nothing bad happened," Murata added, his eyes looking at the ground and the tone of his voice darkening.

"But there is another thing you must be aware of sir Von Bielefeld." Murata's eyes were able to stop him on the spot, even through those glasses. "You swore your life to your King; you have a duty to stay by his side no matter what you want. You are a soldier and your priority is to look after your King. I let all of this happen to make you understand how much your careless behaviour put everyone in danger."

Regret was filling Wolfram's heart; he knew, of course, that he was being selfish - he couldn't act upon his will, he had duties toward his king and was a soldier before being a man.

" I know..." Wolfram could no longer bear Murata's cold hard stare. "I know very well..."

"You can run away from yourself as much as you want, but I'll tell you something. Shibuya can be stubborn like you, he might not know what is in his heart and might not love you in the way you want to be loved, but he would never abandon someone who stayed near him from the beginning." There was a tenderness barely recognizable in the way he spoke. "He is not going to give up on you...and you have your duties. Make up your mind soon."

Wolfram saw the Great Sage turning his back at him and as he watched the figure walking away those words kept replaying in his mind. He knew he made a mistake in leaving; he had acted upon his own feelings, something that a soldier can't allow himself to do. He had ignored his duties and his loyalty to the King, he just disappeared without saying anything; he had acted like the selfish brat Yuuri always said he was.

A wave of weakness overcame him and he sat down, allowing his eyes to close and bringing his hands on his face, his elbows resting on the knees.

_What am I going to do now? Will I be able to confront him?_

_  
_Mustering up all his courage, Wolfram resolved to take the matter in his hands instead of running away. Weakly, he stood up. Wolfram could still see the retreating back of the Great Sage and tried to catch up with him in order to show him and everyone else that he was not going to be a brat who refuses to directly face his problems.

The Great Sage slowed his speed with an almost satisfied expression on his face, and stopped few meters away from the horses of the troops. Wolfram found a pair of glasses looking directly at him with the same smile. Then, he didn't know what exactly happened, but suddenly Wolfram saw that face coming too near.

"If you want any help, may I suggest you focus your attention on someone else?" The words were whispered from Murata Ken's lips which were now a few millimeters from his ear. Wolfram found himself frozen on the spot while the Great Sage gently caressed his cheek.

As quickly as it started, it ended and the Great Sage's face was again at a normal distance, smiling innocently. "Sorry, you had some dirt on your face..." he casually said before walking away adding "Good luck...Wolfram"

Was Wolfram hallucinating, or the Great Sage called him by his first name? He had never called him that before.

It took few moments for him to regain his composure. His eyes absently scanned around the area, but then widened. Wolfram's heart was beating fast as he watched a figure slowly approaching.

It seemed as if time stopped, one look in those black eyes, and Wolfram knew that everything was about to change.

TO BE CONTINUED

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I guess people will want to kill me for closing the chapter with another cliffhanger. But eventhough next installment will be important, it won't be the last one, I have a lot of ideas for this fanfic, it took a while to get to this point, I know, but it'll take even more to develop everything. I like it slow in order to be plausible, I need to make the characters IC after all.  
By the way, Wolfram's reflections about himself and his way to cover the manly traits of his personality are not invented for this fanfic, I wrote it because in the novels, during a scene, Wolfram made the readers understand that he actually was hiding his manly side because he wanted to make it easier for Yuuri to accept a male fiance.

To know more about the novels, the drama cds (that lately have SO MUCH WolfYuu/Yuuram in them) and all the KKM related news, check my profile. I put there all the links. And if you want to know even more, I have a community on livejournal dedicated to Wolfram, where I translate and share drama cds and every news I get. You can find the link on my profile.

So...how was this chapter? Did you like it? Let me know ok?

I really hope people didn't forget about this fanfic and will tell me what they thought of chapter 8, I treasure all your reviews and the more I get the faster I write. If it wasn't for you, I would have stopped already, honestly, writer block was terrible so thank you for helping me to find the inspiration again. The story is all here in my mind, I just wish it would write itself alone, because when is time to put in words my ideas it takes a lot and sometimes I get depressed. I'm sure every writer understands what I mean.

So thank you again for showing so much interest for this fanfic, please continue to tell me what you think ok?

Love♥


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